Yonhap reports that South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT held a working-level workshop with OpenAI on May 18, 2026, where Sasha Baker, head of national security policy for ChatGPT, introduced Trusted Access for Cyber (TAC) and related cybersecurity functions of the company’s latest models. Aju Press reports that on May 27 Vice Minister Ryu Je-myung met OpenAI Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon to formalize Seoul’s participation in TAC, and that the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) will serve as the implementing body. Aju Press also reports Korea and Japan are among the first two Asian countries to join the program. Aju Press published a direct quote from Vice Minister Ryu: “Through this cooperation with OpenAI, Korea has laid the groundwork to get ahead of AI-driven cyber threats.” Editorial analysis: Industry observers should view this as part of a broader pattern where governments seek vetted, controlled access to frontier models for defensive cyber research and vulnerability assessment.
