ICAS Welcomes KARB’s Vision for the Future of Advertising Self-Regulation

The International Council for Advertising Self-Regulation (ICAS) welcomes the new Vision Statement presented by the Korea Advertising Review Board (KARB) at its international conference on AI and Advertising Self-Regulation, held in Seoul on 10 – 11 September 2026.

The conference has brought together advertising standards bodies, industry experts and public authorities from Korea and from around the world to discuss how advertising self-regulation can continue to evolve in response to artificial intelligence, digitalisation and increasingly borderless advertising markets.

ICAS was honoured to attend the two-day programme, with contributions from ICAS President Hilary Souter and representatives of ICAS members from the United States, Spain, the Netherlands, India, the UK and EASA, alongside speakers from KARB.

ICAS Director Sibylle Stanciu moderated the Town Hall discussions on both days, bringing together perspectives from advertising self-regulatory organizations across different regions. The second-day panel also included the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC), adding an important regulatory perspective to the discussion on how public regulation and self-regulation can work together to address the challenges of the AI era.

Discussions ranged from the foundations of effective advertising self-regulation and international cooperation to its future development – including proactive, technology-enabled advertising monitoring, cooperation with global platforms, and the relationship between national standards and global advertising markets.

Against this backdrop, KARB presented its Vision Statement for a Responsible Advertising Ecosystem in the AI & Global Era, setting out five core action commitments for the future development of advertising self-regulation in Korea. These include the transparent utilization of AI technology and advancing AI as a self-regulatory tool; combining AI-enabled monitoring with professional human oversight; stronger cooperation with global platforms; greater international collaboration against cross-border advertising threats; a shift from ex-post remediation towards preventive approaches; and closer complementarity between public regulation and private self-regulation. 

International cooperation is an important part of KARB’s vision. The Statement specifically highlights strengthened cooperation through global networks including ICAS and the European Advertising Standards Alliance, its European sister organization, with a focus on sharing information and international best practice. 

Hilary Souter, President of ICAS, said:

KARB’s Vision Statement is a strong and forward-looking expression of the role advertising self-regulation can play in a rapidly changing advertising ecosystem. We particularly welcome its focus on proactive self-regulation, the commitment to foster the responsible use of AI technologies, cooperation with global platforms and stronger international collaboration. There is no single model of advertising self-regulation that can simply be replicated around the world. But we face increasingly common challenges, and there is enormous value in learning from one another. ICAS looks forward to continuing to work closely with KARB and supporting its efforts to translate its vision into practice.

The Seoul discussions also underline the increasingly important contribution of Korea and the wider Asia-Pacific region to the global conversation around the future of advertising self-regulation. As technology, digital commerce and new advertising models continue to evolve rapidly across the region, international learning is more important than ever.

ICAS congratulates KARB on the conference and its new Vision Statement and looks forward to continuing the close cooperation between KARB, ICAS and the global self-regulatory community.