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OpenAI CSO Kwon to visit Korea to explore AI partnerships, sources say

Published: 11 Jun. 2025, 11:17 Updated: 11 Jun. 2025, 14:39

Jason Kwon, chief strategy officer at OpenAI, at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on May 26. [NEWS1]

Jason Kwon, chief strategy officer at OpenAI, will visit Korea on Thursday for the second time in just over two weeks to explore partnerships in the AI sector, industry sources said Wednesday.

His upcoming visit comes just a week after the inauguration of President Lee Jae-myung, who has pledged to make Korea one of the world's top three AI powerhouses through a 100 trillion-won ($73 billion) national investment initiative.

During his previous visit on May 26, Kwon said OpenAI has established a Korean subsidiary and plans to open its third Asian office — following Tokyo and Singapore — in Seoul in the coming months.

The move is part of OpenAI's broader global expansion. The developer of ChatGPT has launched 11 new offices in major cities in recent years, including Paris, Brussels, Singapore, London, Dublin and Tokyo.

"OpenAI considers Korea a key partner due to its high level of engagement with our services and sees strong potential for collaboration with Korean companies," an OpenAI official said.

Korea ranks among the top 10 countries globally in terms of ChatGPT users and developers using OpenAI platforms. In particular, it has the second-largest number of paid ChatGPT subscribers, following the United States.

Even before formally entering the Korean market, OpenAI has collaborated with several major Korean companies, including internet giant Kakao, game developer Krafton and mobile carrier SK Telecom, on AI technologies and data center development.

Kakao is expected to unveil the results of its joint project with OpenAI later this year.

Yonhap