In South Korea, what you ask AI could land you in court

AI’s conversational structure can reveal a user’s internal reasoning and intentions. Read more at straitstimes.com.

SEOUL – South Korean police are increasingly examining suspects’ generative artificial intelligence use history as key evidence in establishing intent or motive, according to media reports citing legal experts on Feb 25.

In a recent case, investigators said they decided to pursue murder charges – rather than charges of death resulting from bodily injury – against a female suspect accused of serial killings in Gangbuk-gu, Seoul, after reviewing her chat logs with OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

The suspect, a woman in her 20s surnamed Kim, was charged with murder, aggravated bodily injury and violations of the Narcotics Control Act. She is accused of giving drug-laced hangover remedies to three men at a motel between December 2025 and Feb 9. Two victims died, after the first survived with injuries.

Police said the suspect had asked ChatGPT: “Would people die if they took sleeping pills with alcohol?”

Investigators viewed this as evidence suggesting criminal intent.

Legal experts say such investigative practices are becoming more common. Lawyers noted that the authorities increasingly examine generative AI chat logs during mobile phone forensic analyses.