Special Speech
by
H.E. Cho Tae-yul
Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs

Capacity Building Panel Discussion
Seoul Conference on Cyberspace 2013

October 18, 2013
Coex, Seoul

Excellencies,
Distinguished Participants,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am delighted to be here with you this morning to share some of my thoughts on the subject of capacity building in cyberspace.

As host of the Seoul Conference on Cyberspace, the Korean Government added capacity building to the existing agenda of the conference. In doing so, we hoped to provide the opportunity for different stakeholders to share constructive ideas on how developing countries can effectively promote an Internet economy, and address the growing cyber threats. This, in the long run, will pave the way for bridging the digital divide across the globe.

As futurist Alvin Toffler envisioned in his bestseller The Third Wave, the rapid development of ICT transformed our daily lives, national systems and international politics. And today the widespread use of smart devices is paving the way for a mobile-based “smart revolution.” This is ushering in a new wave of unprecedented opportunities with the potential to revolutionize our economies, as it did in agricultural and industrial revolutions in the Neolithic period and the 18th century respectively.

Accordingly, countries are rushing to fully exploit the opportunities. Korea, for one, has been pushing forward with a new economic paradigm - creative economy - that centers on converging ICT with creative ideas to build new growth engines for the second leap forward.

In Africa, with the fastest-growing mobile market at 20 percent annually, mobiles are being used to eradicate poverty and create greater economic benefits than ever before. In particular, M-Pesa, a mobile payment system, which is facilitating the use of micro-financing services, is resulting in economic growth in Kenya and Tanzania.

And in the Philippines, after an automated taxation management system iTAX was set up, tax revenue increased by 80 percent for the local governments, while the time for taxpayers to receive their bills declined from four hours to three minutes.

However, such opportunities and benefits have not been enjoyed equally around the world. 60 percent of the global population still does not have access to the Internet. The situation is more pronounced in Africa where only 16 percent of the population can use the Internet. And the digital divide is further widening the development gap between the developed and developing world.

We are gathered here to share our views and experiences including best practices to ensure that all global citizens enjoy the benefits of the digital revolution.

(Korea’s Development Experiences)

In this regard, allow me to share with you some of Korea’s development experiences, especially in the area of information technology. 

In the aftermath of the Korean War in the 1950s, Korea’s GDP per capita stood at a mere 67 US dollars. But thanks to the assistance of the international community, in a span of a generation, Korea became a full-fledged donor country upon becoming a member of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) in 2010.

In the area of information technology, the Korean Government has been systematically pursuing an information strategy since the 1980s. This eventually paved the way for Korea’s rise to an IT leading country. In 2012, Korea ranked first in the United Nations E-government Development Survey, UN E-participation Index and the ITU ICT Development Index.

I believe this achievement can be attributed largely to a prevailing spirit that Korea should become a first mover in the digital age. To this end, the Korean Government led national efforts to build the necessary infrastructure and implement relevant national policies.

In 1994, the government established a ministry dedicated to ICT, the first of its kind in the world. In 1995, a master plan and a national control tower were set up to coordinate the information strategies of the different ministries. The government also invested in a nationwide broadband infrastructure, which in turn secured the demand for IT and created new markets. An ICT Promotion Fund was set up to use the necessary financial resources in a flexible manner.

(Korea’s Commitment to Development Cooperation)

Ladies and Gentlemen,

A major foreign policy of the Park Geun-hye Government, which took office in February this year, is to contribute to achieving an Era of Global Happiness. This is why Korea is actively engaging in development cooperation that is tailored to the specific needs of developing partner countries.

Information technology is an area where many of Korea’s development cooperation projects are focused. For example, the Korean Government has supported Senegal in building an electronic National Identification Document (e-NID) system to figure out demographic structure of its entire population. The Government of Senegal has been using this system for voters’ registration, tax collection and military services, among others.

In Vietnam, we provided a draft of the vision for an ICT legislation framework based on our own experiences, which later became the groundwork for building a comprehensive legal regime for ICT.

In Rwanda, we are working on a comprehensive ICT project that involves both Korean private and public sectors. A private company is helping to build the Internet infrastructure, while Korea Internet and Security Agency (KISA) is providing technical assistance for strengthening cyber security. In this regard, we wish to point out that it is far more cost effective to incorporate a cybersecurity system when first building the Internet infrastructure as a whole.  

In Bangladesh, Korea is working with the Bangladesh Government to strengthen its cyber crime investigation capacity. We are focusing on setting up a specialized cyber crime investigation unit in the police quarters.

On top of this, Korea has been helping various countries in East Asia and Latin America in building their administrative capacity by sharing its e-government know-how. In particular, the informatization projects using e-government system will improve the quality of the administrative services and contribute to strengthening the social cohesion in these countries.

(Conclusion)

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This is a brief sketch of what Korea has been doing to assist developing countries in their efforts to build the necessary capacity to effectively exploit the enormous opportunities of cyberspace.

I can assure you that, in line with our vision for an Era of Global Happiness, we will continue to actively take part in the global efforts to help developing countries promote dignity and happiness for all.

Thank you very much.  /End/