AI-generated track hits Melon Top 5 — a chart first

AI vocal, top-five chart position

꿈꾸던 어른이 되었나요? by 머무르 (Meomureu) hit No. 5 on Melon's Top 100 as of 2 PM on October 12, 2026. First AI-generated track to reach the upper ranks of a Korean music chart. The song had already topped YouTube's daily popular music video chart before the Melon milestone.

Meomureu wrote the lyrics, planned the song, and directed production. The vocals came entirely from Suno (수노), a generative AI service. Human creative direction paired with an AI-produced voice—and that split sits at the center of an unresolved legal question.

Copyright law hasn't caught up

Under current Korean copyright law, only human-created works qualify for copyright protection. AI-generated music earns no copyright royalties. The creator gets only neighboring rights as a sound recording producer. Both 꿈꾸던 어른이 되었나요? and 마음의 숲—a May 2026 track by 조선힙합 (Joseon Hiphop) that previously entered Melon's Top 100 and was added to karaoke devices—were approved for karaoke on one condition: creators receive no copyright royalties.

The Korea Music Copyright Association (한국음악저작권협회) tried to shift this in August, establishing criteria that would allow AI music to be registered for copyright trust when humans played a primary role in creation. The policy was withdrawn after critics argued there wasn't sufficient social consensus to support it.

(The chart position lands while that regulatory gap is still wide open.)

What the precedent looks like

Two tracks have now broken through. 마음의 숲 in May. 꿈꾸던 어른이 되었나요? in October. Both carry the same legal condition attached to their karaoke approvals: zero copyright royalties for the creator. A No. 5 Melon chart position with no royalty framework to match it.