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K-water, OpenAI team up for global water management, flood and drought predictions

Published: 24 Oct. 2025, 15:08 Updated: 24 Oct. 2025, 17:45

SHIN MIN-HEE
[email protected]

Yun Seog-dae, CEO of the Korea Water Resources Corporation, or K-water, fifth from left, meets with Chris Lehane, vice president of global policy at OpenAI, fourth from left, in central Seoul on Oct. 23 to discuss collaboration on AI-powered innovations in water management. [K-WATER]

The Korea Water Resources Corporation, or K-water, and OpenAI are joining forces to use AI for global water management and to predict extreme weather events such as floods and droughts.

Key agendas include the co-development of a large language model specialized for water-related applications, a climate change forecasting platform, and a global AI-powered water purification plant model.

The discussion was held by K-water CEO Yun Seog-dae and OpenAI Vice President of Global Policy Chris Lehane on Thursday at the Westin Josun Hotel in central Seoul. The two parties agreed to hold follow-up meetings to develop specific action plans.

“Both organizations share a strong belief that water and AI should be safeguarded as universal resources for all, and we mutually saw the potential to make the world a safer place through cooperation,” Yun said, vowing to lead the advancement of a smart water management infrastructure.

K-water announced AI-related efforts back in June through the “AI First Strategy” project, which aims to incorporate AI across the corporation’s water management system, including forecasting and response. K-water emphasized that its 60 years of experience in water management and its processing of more than 7.4 billion pieces of big data daily are strong assets.

K-water was the first water service provider in the world to be given the World Economic Forum’s Global Lighthouse Network Award last year for its AI-powered water purification plant in Hwaseong. The corporation is also in talks to export digital twin technologies for flood prediction and dam operations overseas, including to the United States and Japan.

OpenAI, which established its Korean branch in September, has been actively meeting with government and industry leaders focusing on Korea’s digital transformation in the public sector.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projects that the global population under water stress — meaning insufficient water resources — will increase by 50 percent by 2050. The global water industry is also expected to reach 1.65 quadrillion won ($1.15 trillion) by 2029.

K-water and OpenAI agreed that combining AI and digital twin technologies with water disaster forecasting and response will be crucial for advancing sustainable solutions and holds significant potential for future growth.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [[email protected]]