OpenAI Korea head confident AI-led memory boom will continue

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SEOUL, Sept. 9 (Yonhap) -- Artificial intelligence (AI) chip demand is expected to continue, and OpenAI will continue to prioritize partnerships with South Korean companies in the semiconductor supply chain, the company's regional head said Wednesday.

Kim Kyung-hoon, the general manager of OpenAI Korea, made the remarks at a press conference held in Seoul to mark the regional office's first year since its establishment.

"It is important to have highly advanced semiconductors help faster and more intricate AI processing," Kim said at the event, reaffirming market optimism for an AI memory boom, following the debut of OpenAI's latest AI model, GPT-6 Astra, unveiled early this month.

Shares of Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc. each rose over 3 percent and 5 percent, respectively, on Monday, following the roll-out.

When asked about the government's push to invest in the development of homegrown frontier AI models, the ex-Google executive said he sees the move in a "positive light," as it not only broadens user options, but also helps nurture South Korea's entire AI ecosystem, from the country's semiconductor supply chain to AI-related talent.

Kim Kyung-hoon, the general manager of OpenAI Korea, speaks at an event in southern Seoul, on Sept. 8, 2026. (Yonhap)

During the conference, OpenAI highlighted ChatGPT's accomplishments in South Korea over the past year.

Users of its enterprise-grade ChatGPT models here increased 28 times on-year as of end-August, while those of ChatGPT Work and OpenAI's coding agent, Codex, jumped 14 times over the past six months since March.

Weekly active users for its general-purpose ChatGPT models in South Korea was up 35 percent on-year as of Aug, 25, the company said.

OpenAI said it expects such a trend to accelerate with the deployment of GPT-6 Astra. It is seeking to support inference residency while making efforts to expand its cybersecurity project "Daybreak Partner" with local firms.

The ChatGPT developer is also preparing to scale up its local team dedicated to its advertisement business, the company added. OpenAI rolled out its ad-supported AI service for lower-tier ChatGPT models in South Korea in mid-June.

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OpenAI Korea head confident AI-led memory boom will continue

这将使谷歌能够向您展示与您的搜索匹配或相关的韩联社新闻文章。

首尔，9月9日（韩联社）——OpenAI区域负责人周三表示，人工智能（AI）芯片的需求预计将持续增长，OpenAI将继续优先考虑与韩国半导体供应链中的公司建立合作关系。

OpenAI 韩国总经理金京勋在首尔举行的新闻发布会上发表了上述讲话，此次发布会是为了纪念该地区办事处成立一周年。

“拥有高度先进的半导体对于更快、更复杂的AI处理至关重要，”金在活动上表示，这再次印证了市场对AI内存繁荣的乐观情绪。此前，OpenAI在本月初发布了最新的AI模型GPT-6 Astra。

消息公布后，三星电子和SK海力士的股价周一分别上涨超过3%和5%。

当被问及政府大力投资开发本土前沿人工智能模型时，这位前谷歌高管表示，他认为此举是“积极的”，因为它不仅拓宽了用户的选择范围，还有助于培育韩国整个人工智能生态系统，从该国的半导体供应链到人工智能相关人才。

2026年9月8日，OpenAI韩国总经理金京勋在首尔南部的一个活动上发表讲话。（韩联社）

在会议期间，OpenAI重点介绍了ChatGPT过去一年在韩国取得的成就。

截至 8 月底，其企业级 ChatGPT 模型的用户数量同比增长了 28 倍，而 ChatGPT Work 和 OpenAI 的编码代理 Codex 的用户数量自 3 月以来的过去六个月中增长了 14 倍。

该公司表示，截至 8 月 25 日，其在韩国的通用 ChatGPT 模型的每周活跃用户数同比增长 35%。

OpenAI表示，随着GPT-6 Astra的部署，预计这种趋势将会加速。该公司正寻求支持推理驻留，同时也在努力与本地企业合作，拓展其网络安全项目“Daybreak Partner”。

该公司还表示，ChatGPT 的开发者正准备扩大其专门负责广告业务的本地团队。OpenAI 于 6 月中旬在韩国推出了面向低端 ChatGPT 模型的广告支持型 AI 服务。

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