In a survey released on the 2nd by South Korea's Court Administration Office, 243 of 360 responding judges (67.5%) said they had seen AI-invented precedents or similar material in court filings. The court plans to amend the civil and criminal procedure acts to create a legal basis for fining false citations.
According to the Kyunghyang Shinmun on the 2nd, the Supreme Court's Court Administration Office released results of its ‘survey on citing AI-fabricated precedents and similar material’ that day. 360 judges responded, and 243 of them said they had encountered precedents or materials made up by generative AI during proceedings. That is 67.5%, which the headline's ‘68%’ rounds up.
광고 문의 · 300×250From nonexistent rulings to twisted citations
Among the types of false material (multiple answers), ‘nonexistent precedents’ led with 196 judges (80.7%). Real precedents with wrongly described facts were cited by 159 (65.4%), nonexistent statutes by 41 (16.9%), and nonexistent papers or literature by 10 (4.1%). A typical example was a purported Supreme Court ruling with a plausible case number that cannot be found when searched.
Some filings cited precedents contrary to their actual holding or altered their content. The Kyunghyang Shinmun also reported filings submitted with chatbot conversation text or litigation-strategy notes still in them.
Parties themselves were the most frequent source at 164 judges (69.5%), but lawyers acting as counsel were named by 136 (57.6%), so attorneys are no safe zone. The office said false citations burden both opponents and the court and ultimately delay people's right to a trial.
Over 90% of responding judges want rules
Of respondents, 91.7% said institutional measures are needed. A legal basis for fines drew 215 (61.4%), a duty to verify cited precedents 214 (61.1%), a duty to disclose AI use in filings 212 (60.6%), and sanctions such as referral of lawyers for discipline 194 (55.4%). Concerns were also raised that unrepresented parties find it especially hard to spot and rebut false citations.
The office plans to pursue amendments to the Civil Procedure Act and Criminal Procedure Act, coordinate with the Ministry of Justice and others on a legal basis for fines, and submit its views to the National Assembly. It is also considering posting AI-use guidance on the e-litigation website. The amount of any fine and the legislative timetable have not been confirmed.