AI in South Korea: OpenAI’s Economic Blueprint

Key Chapter Title List

1. Introduction: South Korea as the Next AI Powerhouse
2. Global AI Development Trends
3. Scaling and Adapting at an Unprecedented Pace
4. Pursuing Frontier AI Applications
5. Partnering to Strengthen AI Infrastructure
6. Modernizing the Legal Framework
7. Frontier AI Applications in South Korea
8. AI Powering the Trillion-Dollar Export Goal
9. AI for Essential Social Welfare
10. AI Powering Progress for All
11. Challenges and Policy Recommendations
12. Towards Global AI Leadership: A Dual-Track Strategy

Document Introduction

This report is OpenAI's "South Korea AI Economy Blueprint" released in October 2025. The report aims to provide the South Korean government and industry with a frontier AI development strategy framework based on a global perspective and deep cooperation. Its core topic is to explore how South Korea can balance building a sovereign AI ecosystem with integrating into the global AI innovation network to drive the next phase of economic growth and industrial transformation. The report begins by pointing out that South Korea possesses a solid foundation to become a top global AI powerhouse: a world-class technology ecosystem, strong industrial and digital infrastructure, and a highly skilled talent pool. The Bank of Korea predicts that AI could increase South Korea's total factor productivity by 3.2%, thereby boosting GDP growth by up to 12.6%. In this context, the Lee Jae-myung administration has positioned AI innovation as the core of its five-year policy blueprint and pledged to invest over 150 trillion won through public-private partnerships.

The report first analyzes key trends in global AI development, emphasizing that the pace of investment and scaling is unprecedented, with nations accelerating infrastructure development and modernizing legal frameworks through public-private partnerships to gain a competitive edge. South Korean companies (Samsung, SK) have deeply engaged in global AI infrastructure construction by joining OpenAI's "Stargate" project, particularly in advanced memory chip production and data center expansion. Simultaneously, the report cites examples from countries like the UK and Singapore to argue for the importance of establishing strategic partnerships with frontier AI providers to access cutting-edge technology and achieve rapid deployment.

Subsequently, the report focuses on the application prospects of frontier AI in South Korea's core sectors. At the industrial level, AI is seen as a key engine for achieving the trillion-dollar export goal, especially in South Korea's strengths like smart manufacturing, semiconductors (e.g., HBM chips), and autonomous ships. In the social welfare sector, AI is expected to address the pressure on the healthcare system from an aging population, improving service efficiency and accessibility through AI-assisted diagnosis, treatment planning, and administrative management. In education, AI is viewed as an important tool for narrowing the urban-rural education gap, providing personalized learning experiences, and freeing up teacher productivity. The report references global cases such as TSMC, Toyota, and California State University, and lists specific domestic initiatives underway in South Korea, such as "Dr. Answer 3.0" and the collaboration between Seoul National University and OpenAI.

The report also does not shy away from the challenges facing South Korea, categorizing them into four main types: a narrow window of opportunity for action, unequal access to AI, insufficient data interoperability, and inconsistent policy guidelines. For each challenge, the report proposes detailed policy recommendations targeting different fields like industry, healthcare, and education. Examples include: expanding AI data center infrastructure, providing adoption incentives for SMEs, establishing industry-specific interoperable data platforms, formulating clear and internationally aligned regulatory definitions, and setting up an independent bipartisan committee to stabilize AI education policy.

The conclusion of the report proposes the core strategy for achieving global AI leadership—the "Dual-Track Strategy." This strategy emphasizes that South Korea must seek complementarity and balance between independently developing sovereign AI models (including foundational models, infrastructure, and GPU supply chains) and accelerating the adoption of global frontier AI technologies. Through phased collaboration with global frontier developers in selective areas (such as SME support, medical assistance applications, and education), South Korea can not only maintain competitiveness in key industries but also gain positive spillover effects in infrastructure operation, deployment practices, and data governance. These gains will ultimately feed back into and accelerate the development of its sovereign AI ecosystem. The report concludes by envisioning that a successful dual-track strategy will enable South Korea to not only become a leading user of AI but also have the potential to export a scalable "AI National Package," positioning itself as a standard-setter and trusted provider in the global AI system.