Paolo Woo-Suk Byun

Paolo Woo-Suk Byun is the Chief of Seoul AI Hub, Seoul’s flagship platform for nurturing AI startups and building the city’s global AI ecosystem, and an Industry–Academia Cooperation Professor at the Institute of Engineering Research, Seoul National University. His career uniquely bridges the worlds of the performing arts, global business, and technology. He began as a professional opera singer, performing as a full member of Teatro alla Scala in Milan and earning prizes at leading international vocal competitions across Europe. He subsequently moved into international business, spending nearly a decade in Italy in overseas sales and trade before returning to Korea to lead COMMAX, a global smart-home and IoT company, where he served as COO and later CEO and founded its corporate venture arm, COMMAX Venturus. A graduate of Seoul National University (B.A. in Vocal Music; Executive MBA) and the Conservatorio di Musica “G. Verdi” di Milano, he has completed advanced executive programs including SNU’s AI CEO course. Today he leads Seoul AI Hub’s mission to connect Korean startups with global partners and to position Seoul as a leading international AI city.