diff --git a/frontend/src/components/SearchLayout.empty-live-region.test.tsx b/frontend/src/components/SearchLayout.empty-live-region.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0578e46be
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/components/SearchLayout.empty-live-region.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,131 @@
+/* @vitest-environment jsdom */
+import React, { act } from "react";
+import { createRoot, type Root } from "react-dom/client";
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+
+vi.mock("next/dynamic", () => ({
+  default: () => function MockDynamic() {
+    return <div>mock graph</div>;
+  },
+}));
+
+vi.mock("next/link", () => ({
+  default: ({ href, children, ...props }: React.AnchorHTMLAttributes<HTMLAnchorElement> & { href: string }) => (
+    <a href={href} {...props}>{children}</a>
+  ),
+}));
+
+vi.mock("lucide-react", () => ({
+  AlertCircle: () => <svg aria-hidden="true" />,
+  CalendarDays: () => <svg aria-hidden="true" />,
+  CheckCircle2: () => <svg aria-hidden="true" />,
+  Clock: () => <svg aria-hidden="true" />,
+  CornerDownRight: () => <svg aria-hidden="true" />,
+  FileText: () => <svg aria-hidden="true" />,
+  Loader2: () => <svg aria-hidden="true" />,
+  Mail: () => <svg aria-hidden="true" />,
+  Network: () => <svg aria-hidden="true" />,
+  Search: () => <svg aria-hidden="true" />,
+  Sparkles: () => <svg aria-hidden="true" />,
+  X: () => <svg aria-hidden="true" />,
+}));
+
+import { SearchLayout } from "./SearchLayout";
+
+function jsonResponse(body: unknown) {
+  return new Response(JSON.stringify(body), {
+    status: 200,
+    headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
+  });
+}
+
+type DeferredJsonResponse = {
+  responsePromise: Promise<Response>;
+  bodyPromise: Promise<unknown>;
+  resolveResponse: () => void;
+  resolveBody: (body: unknown) => void;
+};
+
+function deferredJsonResponse(): DeferredJsonResponse {
+  let resolveResponsePromise!: (response: Response) => void;
+  let resolveBodyPromise!: (body: unknown) => void;
+  const bodyPromise = new Promise<unknown>((resolve) => {
+    resolveBodyPromise = resolve;
+  });
+  const responsePromise = new Promise<Response>((resolve) => {
+    resolveResponsePromise = resolve;
+  });
+  const response = new Response(null, {
+    status: 200,
+    headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
+  });
+  vi.spyOn(response, "json").mockImplementation(() => bodyPromise);
+
+  return {
+    responsePromise,
+    bodyPromise,
+    resolveResponse: () => resolveResponsePromise(response),
+    resolveBody: resolveBodyPromise,
+  };
+}
+
+function statusWithText(container: HTMLElement, text: string) {
+  return Array.from(container.querySelectorAll<HTMLElement>('[role="status"]')).find(
+    (element) => element.textContent?.includes(text),
+  ) ?? null;
+}
+
+describe("SearchLayout empty-result live region", () => {
+  let root: Root | null = null;
+  let container: HTMLDivElement | null = null;
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    if (root) act(() => root?.unmount());
+    root = null;
+    container?.remove();
+    container = null;
+    vi.unstubAllGlobals();
+  });
+
+  it("announces an empty result only after the asynchronous response body leaves loading", async () => {
+    const searchResponse = deferredJsonResponse();
+
+    vi.stubGlobal("fetch", vi.fn((input: RequestInfo | URL) => {
+      const url = String(input);
+      if (url.endsWith("/api/search/answer")) {
+        return Promise.resolve(jsonResponse({ answer: null, citations: [], provenance: null }));
+      }
+      if (url.endsWith("/api/search")) return searchResponse.responsePromise;
+      throw new Error(`Unexpected fetch: ${url}`);
+    }));
+
+    container = document.createElement("div");
+    document.body.appendChild(container);
+    root = createRoot(container);
+
+    await act(async () => {
+      root?.render(<SearchLayout />);
+    });
+
+    expect(statusWithText(container, "맥락 검색 결과를 불러오는 중입니다.")).not.toBeNull();
+    expect(statusWithText(container, "맥락 검색 결과가 없습니다.")).toBeNull();
+
+    await act(async () => {
+      searchResponse.resolveResponse();
+      await searchResponse.responsePromise;
+    });
+
+    expect(statusWithText(container, "맥락 검색 결과를 불러오는 중입니다.")).not.toBeNull();
+    expect(statusWithText(container, "맥락 검색 결과가 없습니다.")).toBeNull();
+
+    await act(async () => {
+      searchResponse.resolveBody({ results: [] });
+      await searchResponse.bodyPromise;
+    });
+
+    const emptyStatus = statusWithText(container, "맥락 검색 결과가 없습니다.");
+    expect(emptyStatus).not.toBeNull();
+    expect(emptyStatus?.getAttribute("aria-live")).toBe("polite");
+    expect(container.textContent).not.toContain("맥락 검색 결과를 불러오는 중입니다.");
+  });
+});
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/SearchLayout.tsx b/frontend/src/components/SearchLayout.tsx
index 5cf5ad72f..41a19a915 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/SearchLayout.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/SearchLayout.tsx
@@ -654,7 +654,7 @@ export function SearchLayout() {
           {error}
         </div>
       ) : filteredResults.length === 0 ? (
-        <div className="p-5 text-sm font-semibold text-muted-foreground">
+        <div role="status" aria-live="polite" className="p-5 text-sm font-semibold text-muted-foreground">
           맥락 검색 결과가 없습니다.
         </div>
       ) : (