(21 Sep 2026) The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Institute of Science & Technology Evaluation and Planning (KISTEP) announced on September 20 that they had prepared the “National R&D AI Research Ethics Guide,” which includes these provisions. The guide targets principal investigators, co-researchers, and student researchers participating in national research and development (R&D).
The government’s basic principle is that “AI is merely a tool.” It particularly emphasizes that researchers must transparently disclose their use of AI. The guidelines recommend specifying the AI model and version used, the purpose of its application, and the scope of its utilization when submitting or presenting final research outcomes. For example, if ChatGPT was used to refine expressions and grammar in an English abstract or if Claude was utilized to identify candidates for prior research and draft charts, this should be documented.
The government stated that the purpose of the guidelines is “not to regulate AI use but to support researchers in its ethical application.”
The guide defines “hidden prompts”—a method of manipulating paper reviews by concealing AI commands in ways difficult for humans to detect, such as white text or extremely small fonts—as research misconduct.
It also imposes restrictions on reviewers’ use of AI. They are prohibited from uploading national R&D research proposals, result reports, or unpublished papers to external AI services like ChatGPT. This is to prevent leaks of research ideas, personal information, or national core technologies to external servers.
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