KOREA

STATEMENT BY H.E. MR JUN-HYONG RHO
Minister of INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION

Honorable Chair of the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference and distinguished delegates!

On behalf of the government of the Republic of Korea, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the Government of the Republic of Turkey and to the staffs of the ITU Secretariat for all the efforts in hosting and organizing this year's ITU Plenipotentiary Conference.
My special thanks also go to the people of this beautiful coastal city, Antalya, for their heartfelt hospitality.

Distinguished delegates!

As you know, Korea is now recognized as one of the global IT leaders. While achieving remarkable economic growth, we have aggressively pursued the informatization strategy since the 1990s. The government's clear vision and investment, active support from companies and the peoples' passion for education, all served as the basis for IT development in our nation.

Korea has now established itself as an IT powerhouse with high-quality IT products
such as semiconductors, mobile phones, LCD displays and many more. IT industry became a core driving force of the national economy, accounting for 15% of GDP and 35% of total exports. In addition, Korea is becoming the birthplace of new digital cultures and a test-bed for latest information technologies. It has also sped up the development of core technologies such as the world's first WiBro(Wireless Broadband), and Terrestrial and Satellite DMB services.

As for the public sector, Korea is accelerating its pace to establish an e-government that enhances efficiency and transparency of administration, and convenience for its citizens, thus revolutionizing administration systems. The vision of the Korean government is to realize a digital world that shares the common value of mankind. In order to achieve that vision, we have been promoting policies aimed at bridging the digital divide, fostering the establishment of a sound information culture and creating a safe network usage environment.

Such tasks, however, cannot be tackled alone, but must be solved through concerted efforts of the international community. Given the gravity of the situation, I believe that the two phases of the World Summit on the Information Society were very timely and meaningful. Moreover, I believe that this year's Plenipotentiary Conference bears even greater significance, as it will serve as a turning point for ITU to redesign its roles in implementing the commitments forged at the two Summits.

Distinguished delegates!

Since joining the ITU in 1952, Korea has been actively taking part in many ITU activities by chairing study groups, holding international conferences and implementing the Digital Bridge Initiative project.

In the future, based on our experience learned from the informatization process, Korea will continue to participate in all kinds of activities organized by the ITU. In this rapidly developing information society, ITU should play the role of a steersman and a coordinator between advanced and developing countries, to reflect all interests.

It is my sincere hope that the newly elected executives of ITU will cope with these tasks, taking ICT to a new level. Korea will also do its part through active cooperation and contribution, such as running for ITU Council and Director of ITU TSB to fully support the organization.

I would like to, once again, thank all the related staffs from Turkey and the ITU Secretariat for organizing today's meaningful event.

Thank you for your attention.