Anthropic, the prominent US developer behind the advanced Claude AI model and a significant competitor to OpenAI, has announced the appointment of Choi Ki-young as the inaugural country head for Anthropic Korea. This strategic move precedes the formal opening of its new Seoul office, signaling Anthropic’s deepened commitment to the Korean market.
Senior executives from Anthropic are scheduled to visit Seoul in the coming weeks to officially establish the office and engage with key corporate customers. Anthropic Korea, the local entity, was formally registered in July 2025, laying the groundwork for its operations.
Mr. Choi Ki-young brings an impressive track record of over 30 years within the technology industry, spanning both Korea and the broader Asia-Pacific region. Prior to his role at Snowflake’s Korea operations, he successfully led the Korean businesses for major tech giants including Google Cloud, Adobe, and Autodesk, and also held the position of chief operating officer at Microsoft Korea.
The newly formed Seoul team will strategically focus on cultivating robust partnerships with local companies and innovative startups. Furthermore, key objectives include fostering cooperation with government bodies and leading research institutions, alongside actively supporting the vibrant local developer community to accelerate AI adoption in Korea.
Choi articulated his commitment to developing a bespoke strategy, meticulously tailored to the specific usage patterns of Claude AI in Korea. He emphasized industry-specific platforms as Anthropic’s primary competitive differentiator against major rivals like OpenAI, Google, and Amazon Web Services. As a prime example, he highlighted the recent May 13 launch of Claude for Small Business, an innovative package designed to automate routine administrative tasks such as payroll and invoicing for companies lacking dedicated IT personnel, showcasing Claude’s practical applications.
Remarkably, Korea stands out as one of the heaviest global users of Claude AI, especially considering its market size. Anthropic’s comprehensive Economic Index report, released in March, revealed that Claude’s usage in Korea is approximately 3.5 times higher than predicted by the country’s population, with notable strength observed in both technical and creative applications of the AI model.
Evidencing this strong adoption, several prominent Korean firms are already integrating Claude AI into their operations. Legal-tech innovator Law&Company successfully developed a Claude-based assistant, significantly reducing lawyers’ research and drafting time. Similarly, SK Telecom leverages Claude within a custom-built customer-service model, demonstrating its versatility in enterprise solutions.
In the highly competitive Korean generative AI market, Claude secured a significant 31.7 percent share by payment volume during the first quarter, positioned behind ChatGPT’s 48.5 percent, as reported by investment platform Epic AI. Furthermore, independent data from WiseApp indicated Claude’s impressive monthly active users (MAU) reached 2.41 million in April, ranking third after ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini AI.
This key appointment by Anthropic is set to further intensify the already fierce competition within Korea’s burgeoning enterprise AI market. Notably, OpenAI had previously established its local presence, also appointing a former Google Korea head to lead its operations, underscoring the strategic importance of this market.
Chris Ciauri, Anthropic’s managing director of international, affirmed the company’s focus, stating, “Korea stands as one of the markets demonstrating the highest global interest in Claude.” He further emphasized Mr. Choi’s unparalleled expertise, adding that “few individuals possess such a profound understanding of Korea’s intricate technology ecosystem as Choi Ki-young.”
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