Opening Address by
H.E. Yun Byung-se,
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea

Seoul Conference on Cyberspace
October 17, 2013

Your Excellency President Park Geun-hye,
The Right Honorable William Hague, Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom,
Your Excellency János Martonyi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary,

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my great privilege to welcome you to 2013 Seoul Conference on Cyberspace.

I am particularly honored and pleased to let you know that President Park Geun-hye has graced us with her presence today to personally welcome nearly 90 delegations from around the world.

Her presence is a testimony to the strong commitment that the government and the people of Korea have to the success of this conference, as well as a demonstration of the wholehearted welcome extended to each and every one of you.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The birth of Cyberspace, resulting from the exponential growth of information and communications technology, has presented the mankind with an unprecedented bundle of opportunities.

The revolutionary transformation of the means and the quality of communications is making the entire global community much more transparent, while creating a wide range of social and cultural benefits.

At the same time, it is enhancing business efficiency, while creating new growth opportunities by converging a variety of ideas and information.

Simply put, cyberspace is a realm of endless possibilities filled with previously untapped potentials; it is an unexplored new world where unlimited imagination can create infinite opportunities.

On the other hand, cyberspace has presented us with a unique set of challenges that we have never experienced before – mainly, problems associated with cyber-crime, cyber-terror, and cyber-security, to name a few.

These problems have come to the fore because the nature of the technology that shepherded us to this new world is based on openness rooted in anonymity and trans-border tendency.

In other words, cyberspace that has grown out of openness is, by definition, exposed to vulnerability. It can potentially enable any malicious users to have their hands on “weapons of mass disruption”, which can be as fatal as weapons of mass destruction.

Furthermore, in this new world, no one can reap the fruits of prosperity without the shared sense of common responsibility, mutual understanding and cooperation. It is for these reasons that the international community needs to work together to narrow the digital divide.

For the mankind to overcome the challenges presented by the cyberspace and turn it into a place of mutual benefit for all, we need to harness our collective wisdom.

This is precisely the reason why we are gathered here in Seoul under the theme of “Global Prosperity through an Open and Secure Cyberspace”.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Seoul Conference is the third conference on cyberspace, following the previous meetings in London and Budapest.

At the London Conference, participants reaffirmed the need for a comprehensive norm of responsible behavior. There in London, a wide range of disparate issues covering economic, social, criminal, and security aspects of cyberspace, were dealt in a holistic manner for the first time.

With such shared understanding, the Budapest Conference convened with delegates representing wider spectrum of users. Lively debate took place that enriched discussions which, in turn, provided intellectual stimulus for the future direction of cyberspace.

At this year’s Seoul Conference, I hope that we can provide a new direction and momentum for future progress on the norms of responsible behavior in cyberspace.

The fact that over 40 ministers and vice-ministers responsible for foreign affairs, ICT, defense, and national security are in attendance is a sign that comprehensive and multi-dimensional discussions will take place over the next two days.

Furthermore, the issue of “capacity building” is newly incorporated into the agenda of the Seoul Conference, which reflects the needs and the interests of many delegates representing developing nations.

As we embark on this long journey to find a balanced common understanding of cyberspace and to seek a common prosperity of the mankind, I am confident that the Seoul Conference will serve as a meaningful turning point.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Where there is new space, there needs to be a new order. For our cyberspace, the order we need is the order that can enhance welfare and happiness of all users.

By casting aside our differences and giving heed to the spirit of unity and trust, we can seek a solution that will benefit us all.

As the host of the third Conference on Cyberspace, Korea will actively contribute to creating an open and secure cyberspace, by serving as a bridge between developed and developing countries.

Through such efforts, we hope to pave the way to promote peace and prosperity of the global village.

Finally, I hope the Seoul Conference will be an opportunity for us to renew our commitments to reshape the future of cyberspace and to reaffirm our partnership for well-being of the mankind.

As we take the road previously untaken toward a better tomorrow, the generations to come will see it as being present at creation. 

Thank you.