Three Major Telecom Operators Deny Involvement in Anthropic AI Export Ban over Suspected Korean Company Links

KT, LG Uplus: "No Relevant Issue"


SK Telecom: "Cannot Specify, Not True"

According to foreign media reports, the U.S. government's review of export controls on Anthropic's top-tier artificial intelligence (AI) models 'Mythos 5' and 'Fable 5' was influenced by a Korean telecommunications company. In response, Korea's three major telecom operators dismissed any links, stating that it is difficult to find any relevance.

The Washington Post (WP) reported on the 15th (local time), citing two anonymous White House officials, that the Trump Administration had been considering export controls on the Anthropic models for several weeks prior to officially demanding that foreign nationals be denied access.

The controversy arose after Anthropic submitted a list of 111 companies and institutions granted priority access to Mythos for government approval, and subsequently added 50 more organizations to the access list without promptly notifying authorities. During the process of verifying this additional list, the White House reportedly identified a Korean telecommunications operator suspected of links with China.

The situation escalated further last week when Amazon, a major investor in Anthropic, reported security vulnerabilities in 'Fable 5' to the government. According to WP, Anthropic's loss of trust regarding its management capabilities ultimately led to the export ban.

With the name of the telecommunications company suspected of ties to China remaining undisclosed, Korea's three major telecom operators have denied any involvement. LG Uplus, which uses Huawei equipment in both its wired and wireless networks, drew a clear line, stating, "We never applied for access to Mythos in the first place." KT also commented, "Our internal review confirmed that there are no such issues."

SK Telecom, which joined Anthropic's security council 'Project Glasswing' earlier this month and secured access rights to Mythos, also stated it is unrelated to the incident. SK Telecom said, "The facts mentioned by anonymous sources have not been confirmed, and there is no basis for considering our company to be linked with China."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.