OpenAI to open office in Seoul

OpenAI plans to open its first office in Seoul in the coming months, formally entering the Korean market as part of its efforts to deepen collaboration with local policymakers, companies, developers and researchers on AI infrastructure.

Jason Kwon, chief strategy officer at OpenAI, speaks during a press conference at Four Seasons Hotel Seoul in central Seoul on May 26. [YONHAP]

OpenAI plans to open its first office in Seoul in the coming months, formally entering the Korean market as part of its efforts to deepen collaboration with local policymakers, companies, developers and researchers on AI infrastructure.

Jason Kwon, chief strategy officer at OpenAI, said during a press conference at the Four Seasons Hotel Seoul in central Seoul on Monday that the company has established a legal entity in Korea and will soon launch full-scale operations from Seoul.

OpenAI already runs offices in Tokyo and Singapore. Over the past year, the company has expanded to 11 global cities, including London, Dublin, Brussels and Paris.

Before its official entry, OpenAI had already built ties in Korea through partnerships with institutions such as the Korea Development Bank to support data center development and startup growth.

The company also signed agreements with Kakao, Krafton and SK Telecom to adopt and deploy advanced AI technologies.

OpenAI said it aims to strengthen engagement with Korea’s AI ecosystem and support the development of what it described as “Korean-style AI,” with a focus on broadly and responsibly sharing the benefits of AI adoption.

Kwon said OpenAI remains interested in building AI infrastructure in Korea, although he noted that specific plans for a domestic data center have not been confirmed.

He added that the company continues to work with data center providers like Oracle and Microsoft to explore local data storage options.

He also pointed to a recent partnership with the United Arab Emirates, where OpenAI provides integrated AI models backed by local sponsors, as a potential model for similar cooperation in Korea.

Kwon held meetings on Monday with AI policy officials from both the People Power Party and the Democratic Party to discuss how OpenAI could support national AI infrastructure development.

Korea currently ranks second worldwide in the number of paid ChatGPT subscribers, following the United States.

Over the past year, the number of weekly active users in Korea has increased more than 4.5 times, placing it among the top 10 countries in terms of total users.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff. BY JEONG JAE-HONG [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]