Nam Hyun-woo has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2013, mostly covering business and politics. He currently belongs to the Business Desk where he covers topics such as emerging tech, AI, ICT and Korea's chaebol community. Prior to joining the team, he was the paper's correspondent for the presidential office of Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations.
OpenAI CSO promises support for Lee's AI initiatives
OpenAI Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon's post on President Lee Jae-myung's election win. Captured from @jasonkwon on X (formerly Twitter)
By Nam Hyun-woo
OpenAI Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon has promised the company’s support on President Lee Jae-myung’s artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives, which will be the focal point of the new administration’s industrial policies.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) Wednesday, Kwon congratulated Lee on his election win and expressed the company’s intention to provide support for Lee’s AI policies.
“Congrats to Lee on his election as President of the Republic of Korea,” he wrote both in English and Korean. “I met his team last week and was impressed by their vision for Korea to become a global AI leader and commitment to ensuring AI benefits all Koreans. Looking forward to supporting however we can.”
OpenAI Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon speaks during a roundtable at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul, May 26. Yonhap
Kwon and other officials from the U.S. AI giant visited Seoul on May 26 and met with members of the Democratic Party of Korea’s special committee on digital affairs.
During the meeting, Lim Moon-young, the committee’s head, stressed Lee’s initiative to make Korea “a global AI powerhouse where all citizens can benefit from AI,” and their plan to set up a national AI fund worth 100 trillion won.
Kwon responded that OpenAI aims to work with the Korean government and people to realize “AI by Korea, for Korea and of Korea,” adding that the country has full-stack capability, ranging from chip infrastructure and human resources to internet platforms.
OpenAI has already set up a corporate entity in Korea and plans to open its Seoul office in the near future as part of the company’s OpenAI for Countries initiative, aimed at helping governments develop their own AI infrastructure.
The move aligns with Lee’s campaign pledge to make Korea one of the top three global AI powerhouses through a nationwide AI transformation.
Lee's vision includes establishing a 100 trillion won fund to use as a base for AI investment for both public and private sectors, with a focus on building core infrastructure such as graphics processing units, neural processing units and AI data centers to secure technological sovereignty.
Through this, Lee envisions a project called “AI for All,” in which the government will work with the private sector to develop a large language model and release it as open source, so that all citizens can access and use it. By encouraging nationwide use, the plan aims to accumulate a massive database which will drive industrial innovations.
During his inauguration speech Wednesday, Lee said that the country has entered an unprecedented era of “AI competition,” and his administration will propel the country into an industrial powerhouse through large-scale investments and support for advanced industries such as AI and semiconductors.