OpenAI Korea Chief: "Sticking to Our Roadmap... Stargate Collaboration with Samsung, SK"

Kim Kyunghun Holds First Press Conference as OpenAI Korea Head
"ChatGPT, Now an Everyday Advisor for Decisions and Judgments"
Samsung SDS to Become First Official Channel Partner... Focus on B2B

OpenAI addressed the pursuit by competitors such as Google's Gemini 3 Pro, stating, "The artificial intelligence (AI) market is still in its early stages, and what matters most is whether we are following our roadmap."

Kim Kyunghun, General Manager of OpenAI Korea, is delivering a greeting at his first press conference since taking office on the 4th at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Noh Kyungjo

Kim Kyunghun, General Manager of OpenAI Korea, made these remarks at a press conference held on December 4 at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, saying, "Our employees actually see 'Code Red' (a critical alert) as a positive motivation."

This press conference was the first since Kim moved from Google Korea to OpenAI Korea in September. It also marked the third anniversary of the launch of ChatGPT. He commented, "It's surprising that ChatGPT has only been around for three years," and added, "ChatGPT has now become an advisor that helps us make decisions and judgments."

He especially emphasized that Korea ranks first in the world for the proportion of paid ChatGPT users per capita, making it the country that best utilizes AI for productivity gains. Kim explained, "Koreans are quick to leverage any new technology without hesitation to realize its potential," and "Compared to other countries, ChatGPT is widely used in Korea for work that creates business value."

Kim was unfazed by industry analysis suggesting that OpenAI is facing a crisis as Google regains momentum. He stated, "New AI models keep emerging, but we continue to see robust growth in both user hours and user numbers," and "While other AI models may briefly top the Apple App Store, OpenAI consistently maintains the number one position."

OpenAI has recently been surrounded by rumors of crisis and is working intensively to improve ChatGPT. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, recently declared a Code Red internally, urging the team to focus on advancing the ChatGPT model and improving user experience. The company has also decided to acquire Neptune AI, a Polish startup that monitors AI model training processes.

The market has interpreted Google's release of Gemini 3 Pro last month, which has been evaluated as outperforming ChatGPT, as a source of crisis for OpenAI. In response, Kim said, "Code Red has actually further motivated our startup, which already works tirelessly," and added, "I believe it's important for us to keep excelling at what we do best." He further stated, "There are already many solutions available, but as a leading company, we will accelerate the pace of AI development in Korea together with many local partners."

OpenAI plans to focus on business-to-business (B2B) operations in Korea. At the press conference, Kim shared B2B business achievements with AI adoption leaders from GS Engineering & Construction and LG Uplus. GS Engineering & Construction is distributing ChatGPT Enterprise internally and sharing various AI use cases across the organization to drive work innovation. LG Uplus plans to launch the Agentic Callbot Standard using OpenAI technology on December 16, and to release the Agentic Callbot Pro in the first half of next year.

Samsung SDS is expected to become OpenAI's first official channel partner in Korea. Kim stated, "We will finalize the contract with Samsung SDS this month and make an official announcement. We also plan to reveal a few more partners early next year."

Additionally, Kim said, "This week, the Stargate project team from our U.S. headquarters visited and met with Samsung and SK," and added, "Since OpenAI has limited capacity for direct investment, we are strengthening partnerships with big tech companies that have strong capital, such as Oracle and SoftBank." He also noted, "Startups are important partners, and we are actively collaborating with them," and "We are asking headquarters to allow us to launch or test programs and projects under development in Korea first."