KT Corp Launches Korean AI Model With Microsoft GPT-4o

Seoul, South Korea - KT Corp announced the commercial release of an artificial intelligence model on Monday, developed in partnership with Microsoft Corp, which the company stated has been modified for Korean-language applications.

The model, designated SOTA K, is built on GPT-4o and utilizes Microsoft's GPT-4o as a foundation, with additional training data focused on the Korean language and content, according to a company statement.

KT stated that existing large language models demonstrate performance limitations when processing the Korean language, due to training datasets that are concentrated on English-language sources.

The company said it assembled Korean-language training data and worked with Microsoft to modify GPT-4o, but did not disclose specifics on data volume or technical changes.

According to KT’s internal testing, the model recorded higher scores than standard GPT-4o on several Korean-language evaluation categories developed by the company.

These included Korean civil service examinations and naturalization tests that covered Korean history, language, and legal content. The company did not release comparative performance data or detailed test results.

The model processes Korean honorific structures, regional dialects, and sector-specific terminology in areas such as law, finance, and history, KT stated.

The company said it created proprietary evaluation datasets to measure Korean-language AI capabilities.

Four organizations conducted operational tests of the model. Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance Co. applied the technology to insurance policy summarization and customer service documentation, according to KT.

The Educational Broadcasting System tested content generation for educational materials. Yonsei Medical Center reported that the model converted medical data containing both Korean and English text into Korean for patient communication. Korea Electric Power Corp stated the model responded to internal queries.

KT said the model met its internal criteria for responsible AI implementation, including legal compliance and resistance to adversarial manipulation. The company did not provide details on testing methodologies or third-party validation.

The model operates on cloud infrastructure located in South Korea and connects to KT’s retrieval-augmented generation system, which the company claims enables organizations to utilize their internal data.

KT said it plans to initially deploy the model in consumer services before extending access to commercial partners.

The release follows KT’s development of a separate AI model, Mideum.

The company stated that it intends to maintain both independently developed and partnership-based AI models, describing this approach as providing flexibility based on operational needs.

The company did not disclose the financial terms of the Microsoft partnership, investment amounts in the project, pricing for commercial access to the model, or projected revenue from the technology.