Anthropic logo [Reuters=Yonhap News]

South Korea's major mobile telecommunications industry has collectively denied allegations following foreign media reports that the U.S. government considered export controls over concerns about a South Korean carrier's access to artificial intelligence (AI) models due to suspected ties to China.

SK Telecom [017670] stated to Yonhap News on the 17th, "While some have mentioned a 'South Korean carrier with ties to China' in relation to the blocking of access to the latest AI, SK Telecom is not that carrier."

The company further emphasized, "SK Telecom does not use Chinese products in its wireless communication equipment, and we have never had, nor do we currently have, any business or other ties to China," adding, "We have not received any official or unofficial notification from the U.S. government regarding this matter."

KT [030200] and LG Uplus [032640] also flatly denied the allegations, stating, "We have never been granted access rights to Mythos."

Previously, the Washington Post (WP) reported on the 15th (local time), citing White House officials, that the Donald Trump administration discovered one South Korean telecommunications company—suspected of having ties to China—on the pre-release user list for the latest AI models 'Mythos 5' and 'Fable 5' from American AI startup Anthropic.

Anthropic provided access to its models to participating organizations of the global cybersecurity coalition 'Project Glasswing' prior to their official launch. According to the report, the U.S. government identified the South Korean carrier while reviewing additional user lists.

Although the WP did not disclose the name of the company in its report, SK Telecom, which recently announced its participation in Project Glasswing, was speculated by some in the industry as a likely candidate.

However, the specific grounds on which the U.S. government determined the potential connection to China remain unknown.

Some speculate that the reason might stem from the fact that the three major carriers use some Huawei equipment in their wired backbone networks.

Regarding this, the industry maintains that since Huawei is the leading player in the global network equipment market with a share exceeding 30%, the adoption of its equipment is not unusual, and no direct link to this issue has been confirmed.

An industry official stated, "It is not even clear what exactly the U.S. government has taken issue with," adding, "There is a need to first verify the accurate facts behind the foreign media reports."