(LEAD) Lee, OpenAI CEO discuss AI partnership

SEOUL, Oct. 1 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung met with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Wednesday and discussed ways to expand partnership in artificial intelligence (AI), as South Korea is seeking to become an AI hub in Asia.

Altman visited the presidential office after holding separate meetings with Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, during which OpenAI signed letters of intent (LOIs) with the two conglomerates on memory chip supply for its flagship "Stargate" AI infrastructure project.

Lee welcomed OpenAI's agreements with Samsung and SK hynix, the world's two largest memory chip makers, saying it is "a mutually beneficial partnership" as semiconductors are essential to operate data centers.

"I hope the collaboration with OpenAI will help expand Korean companies' exports and create more jobs," Lee said. "I hope Samsung and SK, together with OpenAI, will play a key role in the global distribution of AI."

Samsung said its LOI with OpenAI includes cooperation on chips, data centers and cloud computing tied to the Stargate project. SK announced it signed a separate LOI on memory chip supply and an additional memorandum of understanding (MOU) to build a new AI data center in southwestern Korea.

Lee also voiced hope for broader collaboration with OpenAI to expand AI infrastructure and achieve his administration's goal of making Korea one of the world's top three AI powerhouses.

Earlier in the day, the Ministry of Science and ICT signed an MOU with OpenAI for wide-ranging cooperation in the AI sector.

"I expect the nation's AI ecosystem to significantly advance through the cooperation between the Korean government and OpenAI," Lee said.

Altman expressed enthusiasm for the partnership with Samsung and SK as well as the Korean government.

"We're very excited to build Stargate Korea and data centers with our wonderful partners to support the sovereign AI needs of Korea," he said. "We hope to do much more over time."

He praised Korea's industrial base as critical for AI development and called the country's AI transformation across sectors "remarkable."

"I couldn't be more excited to get to partner with Korea both to support the needs of the country and to really develop AI to its potential for the good and bring it to the world," Altman said.

Lee has pledged to expand support for AI infrastructure as a new growth engine, while urging global collective efforts toward "AI for all" and "inclusive, human-centric AI."

During his visit to New York last week, Lee met BlackRock CEO Larry Fink to discuss cooperation in AI and renewable energy, which led to the signing of an agreement to build AI data centers under Seoul's vision of becoming Asia's AI hub.

ejkim@yna.co.kr
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