Republic of Korea

The Republic of Korea has participated in all Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) meetings on autonomous weapons systems.

The Republic of Korea does not support the negotiation of a legally binding instrument on autonomous weapons systems. At the 2018 meeting of the CCW Group of Governmental Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (GGE on LAWS), the Republic of Korea stated that ‘it is premature to discuss a legally binding instrument at this stage.’^[1]Statement by the Republic of Korea, CCW Group of Governmental Experts on LAWS, 13 April 2018, … Continue reading At the 2021 meeting of the GGE on LAWS, the Republic of Korea acknowledged that ‘questions have been raised’ regarding whether the international humanitarian law principles for the protection of civilians  – ‘distinction, proportionality and precautions’ can be ‘fully applied to the use of potential LAWS’, and noted that ‘it is also true that there has not yet clarity regarding the accountability chain of IHL in areas in which autonomous technologies are being applied.’ However, the Republic of Korea stated that ‘this should not make us jump to any hasty conclusions’.^[2]Statement by the Republic of Korea, CCW Group of Governmental Experts on LAWS, 03 August 2021, http://149.202.215.129:8080/s2t/UNOG/LAWS-03-08-2021-AM_mp3_en.html; please note that this link leads to … Continue reading

At the 2022 UN General Assembly First Committee meeting, the Republic of Korea said that it ‘remains committed to the framework of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), which strikes a balance between security concerns and humanitarian considerations of States Parties. The issue of emerging technologies in the area of lethal autonomous weapons system (LAWS) has certainly been one of the focuses of our discussions in the CCW framework for the last several years. We welcome the progress made this year by the Group of Governmental Experts on LAWS through the adoption of the report of the 2022 session and we hope to continue our efforts through the GGE process until a consensus is reached on normative and operative frameworks on emerging technologies in the areas of LAWS.'^[3]Statement by the Republic of Korea, 77th UN General Assembly First Committee, 21 October 2022, https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com22/statements/21Oct_ROK.pdf

At the 2021 United Nations General Assembly First Committee meeting, the Republic of Korea said that it expects ‘that the global community will continue to promote responsible behaviors’ with regard to the issue of autonomous weapons systems,^[4]Statement by the Republic of Korea, UN General Assembly First Committee, 05 October 2021, https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com21/statements/5Oct_ROK.pdf and stated in the same forum in 2020 that ‘we hope that the collective efforts through the GGE process will continue until a consensus on normative and operative frameworks on emerging technologies is reached.’^[5]Statement by the Republic of Korea, UN General Assembly First Committee, 09 October 2020, https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com20/statements/9Oct_ROK.pdf

The Republic of Korea is involved in the development, testing and use of weapon systems with autonomous functions.^[6]See, for example, SIPRI (2017), Mapping the development of autonomy in weapon systems, … Continue reading