South Korean Law MCP Server

The law.go.kr alternative for the AI age.

Query South Korean legislation -- covering data protection, cybersecurity, corporate law, and more -- directly from Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible client.

If you're building legal tech, compliance tools, or doing South Korean legal research, this is your verified reference database.

Built by Ansvar Systems -- Stockholm, Sweden

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Why This Exists

South Korean legal research is scattered across official government databases, commercial legal platforms, and institutional archives. Whether you're:

• A lawyer validating citations in a brief or contract
• A compliance officer checking if a statute is still in force
• A legal tech developer building tools on South Korean law
• A researcher tracing legislative history

...you shouldn't need dozens of browser tabs and manual PDF cross-referencing. Ask Claude. Get the exact provision. With context.

This MCP server makes South Korean law searchable, cross-referenceable, and AI-readable.

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Quick Start

Use Remotely (No Install Needed)

Connect directly to the hosted version -- zero dependencies, nothing to install.

Endpoint: https://south-korea-law-mcp.vercel.app/mcp

Client	How to Connect
Claude.ai	Settings > Connectors > Add Integration > paste URL
Claude Code	claude mcp add south-korea-law --transport http https://south-korea-law-mcp.vercel.app/mcp
Claude Desktop	Add to config (see below)
GitHub Copilot	Add to VS Code settings (see below)

Claude Desktop -- add to claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "south-korea-law": {
      "type": "url",
      "url": "https://south-korea-law-mcp.vercel.app/mcp"
    }
  }
}

GitHub Copilot -- add to VS Code settings.json:

{
  "github.copilot.chat.mcp.servers": {
    "south-korea-law": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://south-korea-law-mcp.vercel.app/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Use Locally (npm)

npx @ansvar/south-korea-law-mcp

Claude Desktop -- add to claude_desktop_config.json:

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "south-korea-law": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@ansvar/south-korea-law-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Cursor / VS Code:

{
  "mcp.servers": {
    "south-korea-law": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@ansvar/south-korea-law-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

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Example Queries

Once connected, just ask naturally:

• "What does the South Korean data protection law say about consent?"
• "Search for cybersecurity requirements in South Korean legislation"
• "Is this statute still in force?"
• "Find provisions about personal data in South Korean law"
• "What EU directives does this South Korean law implement?"
• "Which South Korean laws implement the GDPR?"
• "Validate this legal citation"
• "Build a legal stance on data breach notification requirements"

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Laws Covered

Law	Korean Name	Key Topic
Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA)	개인정보 보호법	Personal data protection (one of world's strictest)
Network Act	정보통신망 이용촉진 및 정보보호 등에 관한 법률	ICT network security, information protection
Credit Information Act	신용정보의 이용 및 보호에 관한 법률	Financial data, MyData, credit information
Electronic Government Act	전자정부법	Digital government services, e-government
Framework Act on Intelligent Informatization	지능정보화 기본법	AI governance, intelligent information services
IT Network Act	정보통신망법	Network infrastructure, cybersecurity
Constitution (selected provisions)	대한민국헌법	Fundamental rights, Article 17 (right to privacy)

Additionally includes key PIPC guidelines and supplementary materials:

• PIPA Standard Guidelines (개인정보 처리 표준지침)
• PIPC enforcement actions and penalty decisions
• Cross-border transfer standard contractual clauses

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Deployment Tiers

Tier	Content	Database Size	Platform
Free	All major statutes + English translations + EU cross-references	~80-150 MB	Vercel (bundled) or local
Professional	+ Presidential decrees + ministerial ordinances + PIPC guidelines + enforcement decisions	~400 MB-700 MB	Azure Container Apps / Docker / local

Deployment Strategy: MEDIUM - Dual Tier, Bundled Free

The free-tier database containing major statutes and English translations is estimated at 80-150 MB, within the Vercel 250 MB bundle limit. The free-tier database is bundled directly with the Vercel deployment. The professional tier with full presidential decrees, ministerial ordinances, and PIPC guidelines requires local Docker or Azure Container Apps deployment.

Capability Detection

Both tiers use the same codebase. At startup, the server detects available SQLite tables and gates tools accordingly:

Free tier:     core_legislation, eu_references, english_translations
Professional:  core_legislation, eu_references, english_translations, presidential_decrees, ministerial_ordinances, pipc_guidelines, enforcement_decisions

Tools that require professional capabilities return an upgrade message on the free tier.

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Database Size Estimates

Component	Estimated Size	Notes
Major statutes (법률)	~30-50 MB	Key data protection, ICT, corporate statutes in Korean
English translations (KLRI)	~20-40 MB	Official KLRI translations of major laws
EU cross-references	~5-10 MB	PIPA-GDPR, Network Act-NIS2 mappings
FTS5 indexes	~25-50 MB	Full-text search indexes for Korean text
Free tier total	~80-150 MB
Presidential decrees (대통령령)	~100-200 MB	Implementing decrees for major statutes
Ministerial ordinances (부령)	~100-200 MB	Ministry-level regulations
PIPC guidelines and enforcement	~30-50 MB	Interpretive standards, penalty decisions
Professional tier total	~400 MB-700 MB

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Language Support

The primary language is Korean (ko), which is the sole legally binding version. Official English translations are available from the Korea Legislation Research Institute (elaw.klri.re.kr). These translations are reference translations and are not legally authoritative.

The search tool supports queries in both Korean and English, with Korean queries using proper morphological analysis for accurate results.

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Available Tools (13)

Core Legal Research Tools (8)

Tool	Description
search_legislation	FTS5 full-text search across all provisions with BM25 ranking
get_provision	Retrieve specific provision by statute + chapter/section
check_currency	Check if statute is in force, amended, or repealed
validate_citation	Validate citation against database (zero-hallucination check)
build_legal_stance	Aggregate citations from statutes for a legal topic
format_citation	Format citations per South Korean conventions (full/short/pinpoint)
list_sources	List all available statutes with metadata
about	Server info, capabilities, and coverage summary

EU/International Law Integration Tools (5)

Tool	Description
get_eu_basis	Get EU directives/regulations for South Korean statute
get_korean_implementations	Find South Korean laws implementing EU act
search_eu_implementations	Search EU documents with South Korean implementation counts
get_provision_eu_basis	Get EU law references for specific provision
validate_eu_compliance	Check implementation status of EU directives

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Why This Works

Verbatim Source Text (No LLM Processing):

• All statute text is ingested from official South Korean government sources
• Provisions are returned unchanged from SQLite FTS5 database rows
• Zero LLM summarization or paraphrasing -- the database contains regulation text, not AI interpretations

Smart Context Management:

• Search returns ranked provisions with BM25 scoring (safe for context)
• Provision retrieval gives exact text by statute identifier + chapter/section
• Cross-references help navigate without loading everything at once

Technical Architecture:

Official Sources --> Parse --> SQLite --> FTS5 snippet() --> MCP response
                     ^                       ^
              Provision parser         Verbatim database query

Traditional Research vs. This MCP

Traditional Approach	This MCP Server
Search official databases by statute number	Search by plain language
Navigate multi-chapter statutes manually	Get the exact provision with context
Manual cross-referencing between laws	build_legal_stance aggregates across sources
"Is this statute still in force?" --> check manually	check_currency tool --> answer in seconds
Find EU basis --> dig through EUR-Lex	get_eu_basis --> linked EU directives instantly
No API, no integration	MCP protocol --> AI-native

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Data Sources & Freshness

All content is sourced from authoritative South Korean legal databases:

• Korean Law Information Center -- Official South Korean government legal database

Verified data only -- every citation is validated against official sources. Zero LLM-generated content.

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Security

This project uses multiple layers of automated security scanning:

Scanner	What It Does	Schedule
CodeQL	Static analysis for security vulnerabilities	Weekly + PRs
Semgrep	SAST scanning (OWASP top 10, secrets, TypeScript)	Every push
Gitleaks	Secret detection across git history	Every push
Trivy	CVE scanning on filesystem and npm dependencies	Daily
Socket.dev	Supply chain attack detection	PRs
Dependabot	Automated dependency updates	Weekly

See SECURITY.md for the full policy and vulnerability reporting.

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Important Disclaimers

Legal Advice

THIS TOOL IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE

Statute text is sourced from official South Korean government publications. However:

• This is a research tool, not a substitute for professional legal counsel
• Court case coverage is limited -- do not rely solely on this for case law research
• Verify critical citations against primary sources for court filings
• EU cross-references are extracted from statute text, not EUR-Lex full text

Before using professionally, read: DISCLAIMER.md | SECURITY.md

Client Confidentiality

Queries go through the Claude API. For privileged or confidential matters, use on-premise deployment.

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Development

Setup

git clone https://github.com/Ansvar-Systems/South-Korea-law-mcp
cd South-Korea-law-mcp
npm install
npm run build
npm test

Running Locally

npm run dev                                       # Start MCP server
npx @anthropic/mcp-inspector node dist/index.js   # Test with MCP Inspector

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Related Projects: Complete Compliance Suite

This server is part of Ansvar's Compliance Suite -- MCP servers that work together for end-to-end compliance coverage:

@ansvar/eu-regulations-mcp

Query 49 EU regulations directly from Claude -- GDPR, AI Act, DORA, NIS2, MiFID II, eIDAS, and more. Full regulatory text with article-level search. npx @ansvar/eu-regulations-mcp

@ansvar/us-regulations-mcp

Query US federal and state compliance laws -- HIPAA, CCPA, SOX, GLBA, FERPA, and more. npx @ansvar/us-regulations-mcp

@ansvar/security-controls-mcp

Query 261 security frameworks -- ISO 27001, NIST CSF, SOC 2, CIS Controls, SCF, and more. npx @ansvar/security-controls-mcp

@ansvar/automotive-cybersecurity-mcp

Query UNECE R155/R156 and ISO 21434 -- Automotive cybersecurity compliance. npx @ansvar/automotive-cybersecurity-mcp

30+ national law MCPs covering Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Singapore, Slovenia, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, UAE, UK, and more.

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Contributing

Contributions welcome! See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

Priority areas:

• Court case law expansion
• EU cross-reference improvements
• Historical statute versions and amendment tracking
• Additional statutory instruments and regulations

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Roadmap

• Core statute database with FTS5 search
• EU/international law cross-references
• Vercel Streamable HTTP deployment
• npm package publication
• Court case law expansion
• Historical statute versions (amendment tracking)
• Preparatory works / explanatory memoranda
• Lower court and tribunal decisions

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Citation

If you use this MCP server in academic research:

@software{south_korea_law_mcp_2025,
  author = {Ansvar Systems AB},
  title = {South Korean Law MCP Server: AI-Powered Legal Research Tool},
  year = {2025},
  url = {https://github.com/Ansvar-Systems/South-Korea-law-mcp},
  note = {South Korean legal database with full-text search and EU cross-references}
}

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License

Apache License 2.0. See LICENSE for details.

Data Licenses

• Statutes & Legislation: South Korean Government (public domain)
• EU Metadata: EUR-Lex (EU public domain)

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About Ansvar Systems

We build AI-accelerated compliance and legal research tools for the global market. This MCP server started as our internal reference tool -- turns out everyone building compliance tools has the same research frustrations.

So we're open-sourcing it.

ansvar.eu -- Stockholm, Sweden

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_{Built with care in Stockholm, Sweden}