Stock tips with a beat: Samsung Securities' AI K-pop group racks up views

In November 12, stock brokerage Samsung Securities introduced an AI-generated K-pop girl group named LUMINA to act as brand ambassadors for their social media channels. The debut music video for LUMINA's song "Override" garnered over 3 million views on YouTube within five weeks of its release, despite the fact that staff experts were inexperienced on camera and celebrities would have been costly and unsuitable for the brand.

Uhm Sewon, head of Samsung Securities' media strategy team, expressed the difficulty in finding people to participate in their content, which amounts to about 1,500 pieces annually.

All aspects of LUMINA's music, characters, and video were created by AI, resulting in more natural-looking dance moves. Samsung Securities has not registered copyright for the song, as it involves no human creative input, and they label the characters as fictional in prominent block letters. In-house specialists verify finance-related content in about three stages to maintain investor trust.

Despite the novelty of AI-generated music, South Korea ranks 12th globally in generative AI use, with virtual K-pop bands not being a new phenomenon.