1. The Second Ministerial Conference of the Community of Democracies will be held at the COEX Convention 
Center in Seoul on 10-12 November 2002. Representatives from 111 nations and international organizations, 
including some forty foreign ministers, are due to participate.

2. The Community of Democracies was launched in Warsaw in June 2002 against the backdrop of the 
remarkable rise in the number of countries which have undergone the transition to democracy and the 
growing acceptance of democracy as a universal value in the wake of the end of the Cold War, as an 
international coalition of the worlds democratic nations with the aim of further consolidating and promoting 
democracy at the regional and global levels.

3. During the Second Ministerial Conference of the Community of Democracies, which will be held under the 
overall theme of Democracy: Investing for Peace and Prosperity , participants will have an opportunity to 
engage in intensive discussions on specific measures for the consolidation of, and effective countering of 
emerging threats to, democracy.

4. In particular, four Ministerial Roundtables will be held concurrently under the themes of Consolidating 
Democratic Institutions , Regional Cooperation to Promote Democracy , Media and Democracy , and 
Coordinating Democracy Assistance , respectively.

5. At the end of the three days, the Ministerial Conference will adopt two outcome documents: the Seoul Plan 
of Action , which outlines concrete measures for the promotion of democracy, and the Community of 
Democracies Statement on Terrorism , which condemns terrorism as a direct threat to democratic principles 
and world peace.

6. In recognition of the importance of the government-civil society partnership in the promotion of democracy, 
the Community of Democracies Non-Governmental Forum will be held at the JW Marriott Hotel in parallel 
with the Ministerial Conference. Some 250 NGO representatives from civil society groups, academia and the 
business sector from all over the world are due to participate in this Forum. Mr. Bronislaw Geremek, former 
Foreign Minister of Poland, and Ms. Madeleine Albright, former US Secretary of State, are among the 
participants.

7. President Kim Dae-jung of the Republic of Korea will deliver a welcoming speech at the Opening 
Ceremony on November 11, and President Gusmao of East Timor, who will be in Seoul to attend the 17th 
IAVE (International Association of Volunteer Efforts) World Volunteer Conference, will also attend the Seoul 
Ministerial Conference as a special guest. Furthermore, audiovisual messages from President Havel of the 
Czech Republic, Secretary General Kofi Annan of the United Nations, and Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar 
will be viewed.

8. During the Seoul Ministerial Conference, Mr. Choi Sung-hong, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, will 
engage in bilateral meetings with Foreign Ministers from some twenty countries to discuss current trends in 
Northeast Asia, in particular the Korean Peninsula, the enhancement of bilateral relations, and measures for 
cooperation in the international arena. It will also provide an opportunity for Korea to request the support of 
countries so as to obtain official endorsement from the Bureau International des Expositions to host the 
World Expo 2010. 
 

                                                                   Spokesperson of MOFAT

* unofficial translation 

ATTACHMENT:
1. Background Paper of the Second Ministerial Conference of the Community of Democracies
2. Program of the Second Ministerial Conference of the Community of Democracies
3. List of Participants at the Second Ministerial Conference of the Community of Democracies