Schmidt said Google's strategy is to make the Android platform more open. He called South Korea a leading market for Android access; it boasts the world's second highest rate of application downloads from the Android app store. The country topped nearly 60 percent of smartphone penetration in 2012.

Also touting the evolution of Google subsidiary YouTube that has become a springboard for local artists to gain global access, Schmidt referred to Korean pop star Psy and his hit music video titled "Gangnam Style." It has surpassed 250 million views on YouTube since its release on July 15.

Later Thursday, Schmidt met with Psy at the company's Seoul office and was with him dancing the Korean rapper's signature "horse-riding" move. Unfortunately, no YouTube video was made available.