Vice Minister Ryu Jemyung of Science and ICT: "Consensus Reached with NVIDIA on Establishing R&D Center in Korea"

Vice Minister Ryu Jemyung Visits NVIDIA and OpenAI in the United States
"Realizing AI for All"... Cooperation on Talent Development and Safety

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced that on January 9 (local time), Second Vice Minister Ryu Jemyung visited the headquarters of NVIDIA and OpenAI in California, United States, to strengthen global public-private cooperation in artificial intelligence.

Ryu Jemyung, Vice Minister of Science and ICT (right), visited the NVIDIA headquarters in the United States on the 9th (local time) and shook hands with Jay Fury, Senior Vice President. Photo by Ministry of Science and ICT

This visit to NVIDIA and OpenAI was organized to further advance AI cooperation, which gained momentum after President Lee Jaemyung met with Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, and Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, in October last year. At that time, the Ministry of Science and ICT discussed ways of collaborating in the field of AI with both companies.

During his visit to NVIDIA headquarters, Vice Minister Ryu met with Jay Puri, Executive Vice President, to ensure the smooth implementation of the Ministry's GPU adoption plan and discussed strategies for public investment in AI infrastructure to serve as a catalyst for private sector investment.

In addition, both parties agreed on the need to establish an NVIDIA R&D center in Korea as soon as possible. They also shared the view that linking Korea's "K-Digital Grand Championship" with NVIDIA's "Inception Startup Grand Challenge" could create greater synergy in supporting AI startups.

Ryu Jemyung, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, is posing for a commemorative photo during his visit to the OpenAI headquarters. Photo by Ministry of Science and ICT

Vice Minister Ryu also visited OpenAI's headquarters in San Francisco, where he met with Chris Lehane, Chief Global Affairs Officer, to exchange views on AI safety and reliability issues and explored ways to expand cooperation with various organizations in these areas.

They also engaged in in-depth discussions on various AI education and training programs aimed at realizing Korea's national vision of "AI for All," and reviewed strategies for nurturing AI talent. Furthermore, they agreed to continue discussions through a working group on topics such as OpenAI's ongoing plans to establish a domestic AI data center in Korea.

Ryu Jemyung, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, is speaking at the UKF 82 Startup Summit held in the United States. Photo by Ministry of Science and ICT

Vice Minister Ryu attended the "UK 82 Startup Summit 2026," a regular networking event hosted by the UKF, a nonprofit organization founded by Korean-American venture investors and startups in the United States. He gave a presentation on "Korea's AI Policy and Vision" and discussed local AI investment trends as well as support measures for Korean AI startups seeking to enter the North American market with UKF co-representatives and major Korean-American venture capital firms and startups in attendance.

Vice Minister Ryu stated, "Cooperation with OpenAI, NVIDIA, and overseas Korean venture capital firms and startups can serve as an excellent opportunity to elevate our AI capabilities through connection with the global AI ecosystem. Going forward, we will continue to establish an open and sustainable global AI cooperation framework to support Korea's leap toward becoming one of the world's top three AI powerhouses."