South Korea Enforces Digital Accessibility Under Amended Anti-Discrimination Act

South Korea's National Assembly passed amendments to the Anti-Discrimination and Remedies for Persons with Disabilities Act in December 2025, expanding the law's scope to explicitly cover websites, mobile applications, and digital kiosks. The amendments require WCAG 2.1 AA compliance for businesses exceeding an annual revenue threshold of 3 billion KRW (approximately $2.2 million USD).

Key Provisions

The amended Act requires: (1) WCAG 2.1 AA compliance for all customer-facing digital services of covered businesses; (2) annual accessibility audits conducted by certified third-party assessors; (3) publication of accessibility conformance statements on website homepages; (4) establishment of internal accessibility governance with designated responsible officers; and (5) remediation timelines of 90 days for reported accessibility barriers.

Korea's Unique Digital Landscape

South Korea has one of the world's highest internet penetration rates (99.5%) and smartphone adoption rates, making digital accessibility particularly impactful. Korean websites are known for complex, information-dense layouts that can present unique accessibility challenges. The amended Act specifically addresses: financial services websites (a major pain point for visually impaired users), government digital services (already under a separate accessibility mandate since 2021), and e-commerce platforms used by the majority of Korean consumers.

Color Contrast Enforcement

The Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) has been designated as the enforcement body. KISA has developed an automated scanning tool that checks for WCAG 2.1 AA violations, including color contrast. Websites found with systemic contrast failures will receive a compliance order with a 90-day remediation deadline. Failure to comply can result in fines of up to 3% of annual revenue from the covered digital service.

Comparison to Other Asian Markets

Korea joins Japan in adopting WCAG 2.1 AA as the national digital accessibility standard, creating an emerging East Asian regulatory consensus. China has separate accessibility standards (YD/T 1761 and related guidelines) that differ from WCAG in some technical details. For companies operating across Asian markets, the convergence around WCAG 2.1 AA in Korea and Japan is a welcome development that reduces multi-jurisdiction compliance complexity.