Samsung Securities has introduced LUMINA, a four-member, AI-generated K-pop girl group, to serve as brand ambassadors for its social media channels. According to Daily Maverick, the group's debut music video, titled "Override," surpassed three million views on YouTube approximately five weeks after its release. Uhm Sewon, head of the brokerage's media strategy team, explained that the move was driven by the difficulty of finding suitable human presenters for the company's extensive content output, which includes roughly 1,500 pieces annually. She noted that internal staff often lacked on-camera experience, while celebrity endorsements were expensive and potentially misaligned with the brand's image.
The creation of LUMINA involved using artificial intelligence for the song, character design, and video production. Uhm stated that recent improvements in AI tools have made the group's dance movements appear significantly more natural. To maintain investor confidence, Samsung Securities labels the characters as "fictional" in prominent text and subjects finance-related content to a three-stage verification process by in-house specialists. The brokerage has not yet registered copyright for the song, a decision influenced by South Korean government guidelines that restrict copyright registration for music generated entirely by AI without human creative input.
Industry reactions to the trend are mixed. Park Sang-cheol, chairman of the Korea Singers Association, described AI as an unstoppable trend that could lower production costs for artists. However, he warned that AI might negatively impact corporate modelling, session musicians, and songwriters. Park noted that while AI music is initially appealing, it can become tiresome due to its lack of human variation. He argued that live performance retains a unique value because singers can interact with audiences and incorporate their own stylistic nuances, something he believes AI has not yet fully replicated.
The rise of LUMINA fits into a broader context of virtual K-pop in South Korea. Daily Maverick reported that while virtual bands like MAVE: and PLAVE have existed since 2023, they typically rely on human performers for voices or motion capture. LUMINA is distinct because it is entirely AI-generated. Additionally, the AI track "The Adult I Dreamed Of" by MEOMURU recently topped South Korean music charts, utilizing AI-generated vocals. South Korea has also seen a significant increase in generative AI adoption, ranking 12th globally in usage according to Microsoft's AI Economy Institute.