Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, will meet separately with Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, and Lee Jae-yong, chairman of Samsung Electronics, on the 1st, then meet with President Lee Jae-myung.
After arriving that day via the Seoul Gimpo Business Aviation Center in Gangseo District, Seoul, CEO Altman went to the SK Seorin Building in Jongno District for a luncheon with Chairman Chey.
The luncheon was reportedly attended by key AI-related executives within SK Group, including Kwak Noh-jung, president of SK hynix, and Ryu Young-sang, president of SK Telecom. From OpenAI, Kim Kyung-hoon, head of OpenAI Korea, was said to have attended.
SK hynix holds the No. 1 global market share in high-bandwidth memory (HBM), which is essential for AI chips. In particular, OpenAI, together with Nvidia, plans to invest up to $100 billion (about 140 trillion won) to build next-generation AI infrastructure.
Before meeting Chairman Chey, CEO Altman said, "There is a lot to talk about today." When asked how he felt, he responded with a smile, saying, "Very good." Cooperation to build AI infrastructure is also expected to be discussed at this meeting.
After about an hour-long luncheon, CEO Altman moved to Samsung Electronics' Seocho office building in Gangnam District, Seoul, for talks with Chairman Lee. CEO Altman's visit to the Seocho office is the first in 8 months since Feb.
Afterward, CEO Altman will head to Yongsan for a dinner meeting with President Lee Jae-myung. President Lee will meet CEO Altman at the presidential office at 6 p.m. that day, and Chairman Lee and Chairman Chey are expected to join.