OpenAI Joins South Korea in High-Stakes Race to Secure AI Defenses

Translation resultGTAC — Third after the U.S. and Canada — to back government and public agencies; OpenAI to pursue expansion of private-sector TACOpenAI will make its latest high-performance, cyber-focused AI models available to the South Korean government, public agencies and private companies. As advances in AI amplify cyber threats, the company says it aims to help Korea’s principal defenders use those models to strengthen response and resilience.On April 27, OpenAI held a press briefing at the JW Marriott in Seoul’s Seocho district to unveil its “Korea Cyber Action Plan,” part of the company’s broader cybersecurity initiative, “Daybreak.”Central to the plan is South Korea’s inclusion in the Government and Agency Trusted Access program (GTAC). GTAC grants verified governments and public bodies access to OpenAI’s most advanced models. Korea becomes the third country to join GTAC worldwide, after the United States and Canada, joining Japan in the region.“Cutting-edge cyber AI capabilities should not be concentrated in the hands of a few,” said Jason Kwon, OpenAI’s chief strategy officer. “Korea’s primary defenders must be able to use these tools to strengthen collective security and public safety.” He added that OpenAI will work closely with government agencies and companies under the Korea Cyber Action Plan to boost national cyber defenses.OpenAI has already been building cooperation with Korean authorities. On April 18, Sasha Baker, OpenAI’s head of national security policy, demonstrated the company’s cyber-focused models to senior officials from major ministries and agencies, including the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Financial Services Commission, the National AI Strategy Committee, and the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA). Kwon also met on April 26 with Ryu Je-myeong, second vice minister at the Ministry of Science and ICT, to discuss cybersecurity collaboration.Following public-sector engagement, OpenAI plans to expand partnerships with private firms. Separate from GTAC, the company intends to invite major Korean conglomerates to participate in TAC, its program for private-sector access, and is already in discussions with prospective participants. Companies will require OpenAI approval to join, and access will be tightly controlled. OpenAI says it will grant TAC access only to vetted white-hat hackers, defensive researchers, and reputable security organizations after rigorous identity and qualification checks.Kwon emphasized that cybersecurity must be built into development processes proactively, not treated only as a later response. “We want the program to let trusted defenders find, fix and patch vulnerabilities quickly to prevent cyber attacks,” he said.Observers view OpenAI’s push into Korea as part of a broader effort to broaden its public and private customer base in the face of competition from Anthropic, which operates a security consortium called Project Glasswing for a limited set of companies and institutions. The Ministry of Science and ICT has reportedly been in talks with Anthropic about possible participation in Glasswing.OpenAI also cited Korea’s high AI adoption as a factor driving deeper cooperation. According to the company, Korea ranks among the global top 10 for ChatGPT weekly active users, corporate customers and paid subscribers, and is one of the top five countries for Codex usage and engagement. “Korean users have already embraced AI, are using it, and are beginning to integrate it into daily life and work,” Kwon said. “That’s one reason OpenAI wants to deepen its collaboration with Korea’s AI transition.”