Korea's film rating body marks 60th anniversary with push for AI-assisted classification

The Korea Media Rating Board marked its 60th anniversary Monday by hosting a special forum to examine the present and future of content classification in the age of AI.

Held at the Grand Josun Busan hotel, the forum — titled "Beyond Regulation, Toward Industry" — focused on AI-based rating systems designed to handle the surge in video content, a proposed collaboration model between AI and human experts, and the board's evolving role.

Park Se-jin, a professor at Hanyang University, presented on the theme "The Future of Content Classification: Ratings and AI Technology," making the case for adopting an AI-based classification framework. "This 'AI-NI (artificial intelligence–natural intelligence) collaboration model' could become a key direction for content classification in the future," Park said.

US-based AI content analysis firm Spherex drew attention with a live demonstration of its technology, which analyzes video footage, audio, subtitles and sound effects together to understand the contextual meaning of a video.

"An automated system that predicts age ratings and cultural standards across more than 200 regions worldwide from a single video analysis is rapidly gaining traction in the global streaming market," said Teresa Phillips, CEO of Spherex. "The key to AI-based classification is not simply recognizing individual scenes, but understanding each country's cultural context and rating criteria alongside them."

Lee Seong-min, a professor at Korea National Open University, presented on the self-classification regime for online video services, calling it "a successful policy transition that aligns with industry changes" amid the rapid growth of OTT-driven content volume.

Lee said that as the system takes hold, the board should move beyond directly classifying all content itself and expand into a specialized classification body that strengthens post-release oversight and media education.

In a panel discussion that followed the presentations, experts agreed that AI should not replace human judgment but serve as a support tool — rapidly analyzing large volumes of video and flagging scenes that require further review.

Board Chairman Kim Byung-jae said AI-based classification would define the next phase of change for the field. "With the volume of video content growing rapidly, existing methods alone have their limits," Kim said. "We will explore building an AI-assisted classification support system, strengthen post-release oversight and media education, and develop into a future-oriented classification body that the public can trust."