Korean Publishers Ask AI Companies to Show Which Books They Trained On

What are Korean publishers asking for? Disclosure, permission and pay. On October 16, 2026, the Korea Publishers Society (KOPUS), a Seoul-based publishers' group, said it is collecting signatures on an appeal to the government, the National Assembly and AI companies. The press release, posted at 11:42 that morning, puts the appeal's first line in the headline. Translated from the Korean, it reads: "Without books, there is no AI."

The association's chair is Hong Yeong-wan (홍영완). The release says the group wants a basis on which creators and publishers can keep their rights and still have AI and publishing develop together on fair terms. The appeal itself is on a page the association controls, dated October 2026, under a Korean title that translates as "An appeal from the Republic of Korea to the government, the National Assembly and AI companies."

What the appeal says in its own words

The page opens with a Korean sentence, which translates as "Without books, there is no AI," and an English line the association prints beside it: "No Books, No AI."

It then says generative AI is developing through books, and that a book holds the writer's sentences, the translator's word choices and the editor's work on the manuscript. The next paragraph is the one the release also points to. Translated from the appeal's Korean, the people who made the books "do not even know when, how, or which AI used their work. Because they cannot find out, they cannot ask, they cannot refuse, and they cannot demand fair payment."

The association says it is not rejecting the technology. In translation: "We do not reject technology. We hope AI and publishing develop together." It asks a question of its own: if a technology that grew by consuming today's books blocks the path for tomorrow's books, can that development last? The answer it offers is coexistence between creators, publishers and AI.

The page says the appeal joins the spirit of the Frankfurt appeal. PT covered that German appeal when publishers there asked for training transparency. The Korean release adds its own account: the German publishers and booksellers association and about 120 publishers issued the Frankfurt appeal on October 6, local time, as the book fair opened, asking the European Union and the German government to disclose works used in AI training, to set up a fair permission system, and to give rightsholders effective ways to protect copyright. The association says the appeal page also carries a Korean translation of that text.

Three demands

The appeal makes three requests. They are numbered on the page.

One. AI companies should reveal the sources of training data. The association calls disclosure the starting point of responsibility. It says an AI company should record the works it used for training, the sources of those works, and the legal basis for the use, and it should let rightsholders check that record.

Two. Permission from the rightsholder is the principle. Silence is not a yes. The appeal says a failure to announce a refusal must not be treated as permission to use the work. It also says the government and the National Assembly should not limit creators' rights in the name of growing an industry.

Three. Payment should be fair. AI companies should pay rightsholders for the publications they use. The appeal says smaller publishers and individual creators, who have less bargaining power, should be able to negotiate and be paid on fair terms.

The closing lines say the association is not trying to stop AI. It says it will gladly join responsible use and fair cooperation. That cooperation, it adds, can continue only if creators and publishers are still able to bring books out. It asks that protecting that foundation be treated as a core principle of AI policy. The page signs the text, in October 2026, as the writers, translators and publishers who share its view.

Who had signed by October 16

The release gives a count as of the morning of October 16. It says 158 organizations, including publishers and related institutions, and 321 individuals had joined. The individuals it describes are writers, translators, illustrators and publishing workers.

It names people who had signed by then, with these roles: novelists Kim Nam-il (김남일), Kim Yi-jeong (김이정), Eun Mi-hui (은미희) and Jo Yeong-ju (조영주); poets Na Hui-deok (나희덕), Ryu Geun (류근) and Jeong U-yeong (정우영); and translator Hong Han-byeol (홍한별).

Signing is still presented as open. The release says a publisher, a related organization, a writer, a translator, an illustrator, a publishing worker, or an individual reader can submit the online form on the appeal page. The full text and the running list of names are on that same page. The release does not give a closing date.

Why the association says it is doing this now

The release ties the appeal to a specific worry in the Korean book trade. It says alarm has grown as it became known that overseas AI companies bought large quantities of books for AI training from a domestic book distributor. It does not name the companies or the distributor in the release.

The timing sits next to a separate notice the following day. On October 17, Yonhap reported that the Literature Translation Institute of Korea had found 21 books by Korean writers on the Anthropic settlement compensation list and had notified the authors. That is a list of titles already inside a U.S. settlement, not a signature drive.

The appeal does not claim a new statute, a completed license, or a payment rate. It is a public ask, with names attached, for three rules: show the works, get permission, and pay.

Why it matters for authors

The ask is public, in the association's own words. The appeal page and the October 16 release are both on its site, and the page states the three demands in full.

Silence is not consent. The second demand rejects the idea that a rightsholder who has not announced a refusal has granted permission.

The signature count is a morning-of snapshot. The 158 organizations and 321 individuals are the totals for the morning of October 16. The form is described as still open, so those numbers are the floor the release states.

Sources

• Korea Publishers Society (KOPUS): Press release, signatures open on the "Appeal from the Republic of Korea" (October 16, 2026, 11:42)
• Korea Publishers Society (KOPUS): Appeal to the government, the National Assembly and AI companies (dated October 2026)