Kyunghoon Kim, Former President of Google Korea, Appointed as First Head of OpenAI Korea

Kyunghoon Kim: "I Will Help Establish Korea as a Global Leader in AI"

On September 29, OpenAI announced that it has appointed Kyunghoon Kim, former President of Google Korea, as the first General Manager of its Korean subsidiary, OpenAI Korea. Kim is an expert with over 20 years of experience in the global IT and consulting industries, and will oversee strategic partnerships and the expansion of the artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem in Korea.

Kim, the newly appointed General Manager, graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in computer engineering and earned an MBA from Duke University in the United States. He began his career at Bain & Company’s Seoul office, where he led strategic projects for companies in ICT, consumer goods, and manufacturing. In 2015, he joined Google Korea, where he served as Head of Google Marketing Solutions for Korea and later as Head of Strategy and Operations for APAC.

Kyunghoon Kim, General Manager of OpenAI Korea.

According to OpenAI, from 2021 until recently, Kim served as President of Google Korea, where he contributed to the growth of Google’s advertising business and helped expand the domestic AI and digital ecosystem through various developer and startup support programs. He also served as a board member of AMCHAM Korea, engaging in policy and collaborative activities for the advancement of the ICT, cybersecurity, and content industries.

Oliver Jay, Head of International Business at OpenAI, stated, “Korea is one of the fastest countries in the world to adopt AI, and Kim is the right person to lead innovation in this environment. With his extensive experience and leadership, we expect OpenAI Korea to accelerate Korea’s AI transformation by expanding the AI ecosystem, strengthen Korea’s status as a global innovation hub, and play a key role in helping Korea emerge as a top-three global AI powerhouse.”

Kim said, “By combining Korea’s innovation capabilities with OpenAI’s technology, I aim to help Korea establish itself as a global leader in AI. As the use of ChatGPT and OpenAI’s API (Application Programming Interface) platform is rapidly increasing, I will work closely with industry, the developer community, academia, and the government to present responsible AI utilization models and create positive and sustainable change throughout Korean society.”