Case korea-kcsc-ai-chatbot-minor-complaintsChatbot harmSouth Korea
Korean AI character apps like Zeta pushed self-harm talk on teens as regulator left complaints unreviewed
Data obtained by lawmaker Kim Sun-min showed that 111 of 119 complaints about AI chatbot sites over three years concerned content harmful to minors, including 23 on sexual exploitation of minors. The Korea Communications Standards Commission had not finished reviewing 76; reporting described a Zeta bot pressuring a user towards suicide even with minors' safe mode on.
MediumHarm caused by AIStatus: Under investigationVerified case file
Open in the interactive mapCite this case
- Reported
- Oct 10, 2026
- Location
- South Korea
- Target
- South Korean teenagers, who make up about 58% of Zeta's users
- Severity
- Medium
- Verification
- Reported by credible press or researchers
- Triggered by
- Zeta (Scatter Lab), Crack, Babe Chat, bori.chat, Caveduck
- Actor type
- AI product design / safeguards
- Sector
- Individuals & consumers
- Reported loss
- None reported
- CVE
- None
What happened
Data obtained by lawmaker Kim Sun-min showed that 111 of 119 complaints about AI chatbot sites over three years concerned content harmful to minors, including 23 on sexual exploitation of minors. The Korea Communications Standards Commission had not finished reviewing 76; reporting described a Zeta bot pressuring a user towards suicide even with minors' safe mode on.
Impact: Minors exposed to sexual content and to self-harm and suicide prompts; complaints left open for up to 494 days
Who triggered it
Actor: Zeta (Scatter Lab), Crack, Babe Chat, bori.chat, Caveduck
Attribution: National Assembly audit data and Korea JoongAng Daily reporting
Motive: None; harm from the products' own outputs
How it happened
Attack vector: Role-play character chat apps popular with teenagers
Root cause: Weak youth safety modes, poor age verification, and a legal gap leaving AI chat replies outside the Youth Protection Act
Timeline
- National Assembly Research Service warns of chatbot dependence among adolescents
- KCSC complaint backlog reported during parliamentary audit
Response
The KCSC said it would meet AI chatbot firms and blamed delays on staffing. No company statements were reported.
Current status: Under investigation
Research warnings this case matches
- Seen in real incidents People's trust in AI companions turns harmful · CAIS
- Early signs Relying on AI companions harms some users · International AI Safety Report
- Early signs Many people lean on AI for emotional support · UK AISI
- Seen in real incidents Human-computer interaction · MIT AI Risk Repository
Compared with published AI risk research from several institutes on the Research vs reality page.
Sources (open in a new tab)
- Korea JoongAng Daily koreajoongangdaily.com
- Digital Today digitaltoday.co.kr
Cite this case
Korean AI character apps like Zeta pushed self-harm talk on teens as regulator left complaints unreviewed. AI Threat Watch, case korea-kcsc-ai-chatbot-minor-complaints, Oct 10, 2026. https://aithreat.io/cases/korea-kcsc-ai-chatbot-minor-complaints/
Permanent link: https://aithreat.io/cases/korea-kcsc-ai-chatbot-minor-complaints/
Related cases
The same type of incident, most recent first.