AI in South Korea—OpenAI’s Economic Blueprint

South Korea is poised to become one of the world’s next AI powerhouses. With world-class semiconductor manufacturing, dense digital infrastructure, highly educated talent, and a government that has made AI a national priority, the country has the ingredients to lead. Our new Economic Blueprint for Korea outlines how South Korea can translate those strengths into scaled, trusted AI adoption across its economy—while ensuring the benefits are broadly shared.

This blueprint builds on recent milestones, including OpenAI’s first country-level partnership in APAC announced on October 1. Through the Stargate initiative, Samsung and SK plan to expand advanced memory supply crucial to frontier AI, while OpenAI, the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT), and the partners are exploring next-generation AI data centers in Korea. Alongside the launch of the Korea office and a strategic collaboration with Seoul National University, these steps reflect Korea’s momentum and the potential for positive spillovers across industry, infrastructure, and talent.

Why Korea and why now 

• A strong foundation: Korea ranks among the global leaders in AI readiness, with deep strengths in chips, devices, and networks, and a vibrant private sector eager to adopt AI.

• A clear policy focus: The government has committed significant public–private funds to strengthen competitiveness.

• A window of opportunity: As frontier AI rapidly advances, global cooperation will shape the next decade of productivity and innovation.

A dual-track strategy

The blueprint recommends a dual-track approach:

• Build sovereign AI capabilities in foundation models, infrastructure, data governance, and GPU supply, so Korea can chart its own course.

• Pursue strategic collaborations with frontier AI developers to accelerate adoption and ensure businesses gain access to state-of-the-art technologies. A notable example of the strategic collaborations between OpenAI and Samsung, SK, and the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT).