An image display apparatus and a method for operating an image display apparatus are disclosed. According to embodiments of the present invention, the image display apparatus comprises: a microphone; a display unit configured to output a pointer on a screen; and a controller generating a representative image corresponding to a first voice signal and attaching the representative image to the pointer when the first voice signal is input into the microphone in a state in which the pointer is output on the screen. Here, the controller enables the representative image attached to the pointer to be displayed along a moving path of the pointer in response to the movement of the pointer on the screen and, when a specific object on the screen is selected using the pointer to which the representative image is attached, enables a function related to the representative image corresponding to the first voice signal to be applied to the selected specific object while a display corresponding to the selection is output.