Meetings with Samsung and Naver Postponed: The Real Reason Behind Sam Altman's Cancelled Korea Visit

It has been determined that the reason OpenAI CEO Sam Altman cancelled his visit to South Korea just before his scheduled arrival was the birth of his child.

On June 12, OpenAI announced that Altman's visit to Korea, originally scheduled for June 14–15, had been cancelled, stating, "We look forward to visiting Korea again in the near future to greet you."

Altman was scheduled to visit Korea to meet with executives from major domestic companies, including Samsung Electronics, Naver, and Kakao, to discuss cooperation in the AI sector.

At the time, the company only mentioned "personal reasons" without specifying the exact cause for the cancellation. This led to various speculations within the industry, such as a U.S. government investigation into OpenAI or the imminent launch of a new model.

However, as it was recently revealed that Altman welcomed his second daughter via a surrogate, the focus has shifted to the fact that the birth and his travel schedule overlapped.

In fact, Altman shared the news of his daughter's birth in his own words.

Altman had planned to travel to Japan after his schedule in Korea to attend an event announcing a collaboration model with SoftBank, but he did not appear there either. In a video message released at the event, Altman stated, "I am sorry I could not attend the event. My daughter was born earlier than expected, and she is currently in the hospital."

Sam Altman, who married his same-sex partner Oliver Mulherin in 2023, welcomed his first son via a surrogate in 2025.

Reported by Yoo Ji-won | Video by Kim Na-on | Photo: X | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.