AI Smart Glasses Live-Stream Parliamentary Audit... Bae Kyunghoon: "We Will Promptly Develop Countermeasures" [2026 Parliamentary Audit]

"Preparing guidelines... coordinating a response across government agencies"

AI smart glasses equipped with cameras appeared at the Ministry of Science and ICT’s parliamentary audit on October 23. As cases of misuse, including illegal filming and cheating on exams, have emerged, the government stressed that it would step up efforts to develop countermeasures.

During the ministry’s audit at the National Assembly that morning, Rep. Lee Jeong-heon of the Democratic Party of Korea showed a live broadcast of a meeting room being filmed through smart glasses. He asked Bae Kyunghoon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT, to “have three aides wear either regular glasses or Meta smart glasses, and guess who is wearing the smart glasses.”

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyunghoon answers questions from lawmakers during a plenary meeting of the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee on the 28th. Yonhap News.

The demonstration was intended to show the growing risk of misuse as smart glasses are being released in designs that look little different from ordinary glasses. Recently, cases of illegal filming and cheating on exams using smart glasses have been uncovered.

Smart glasses from major companies such as Meta use sounds and LED indicators to signal when photos or videos are being taken. However, stickers and covers that can conceal these signals are openly sold on online marketplaces. The smart glasses brought to the audit also had a concealing sticker attached. “A small sticker is all it takes to disable the warning light,” Rep. Lee said, stressing that “countermeasures are needed.”

Rep. Lee said, “The fear of covert illegal filming in everyday life is becoming increasingly serious, but the government has done almost nothing in response,” adding that “the response and regulatory frameworks of the Ministry of Science and ICT, the National Police Agency, and the Personal Information Protection Commission are inadequate.”

In response, Deputy Prime Minister Bae said, “We will promptly develop measures to address concerns about the misuse of smart glasses across government agencies,” adding, “We are preparing guidelines, but we will also accelerate that process.”

Deputy Prime Minister Bae continued, “At this week’s Cabinet meeting, the president also raised concerns about the related issues, and it seems that action is needed from the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Ministry of Education as well.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.