Hansanghyeok "Preventing Fake News... Important for Disaster Recovery"

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] Han Sang-hyuk, Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission (photo), said on the 24th during a meeting with Philippe Lefort, French Ambassador to Korea, "Preventing the spread of fake news has become another important task for disaster recovery."

During the meeting with Ambassador Lefort, Chairman Han shared cases of Korea's use of information and communication technology (ICT) in response to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). This meeting was a follow-up to the agreement between the two countries' leaders in a phone call last March to cooperate in overcoming COVID-19.

He stated, "The effective response to COVID-19 in Korea was due to the mature civic consciousness, the dedication of medical authorities, and the important role of Korea's broadcasting and communications. Korea provided reliable information quickly and transparently through world-class broadcasting and communications infrastructure, enabling citizens to respond proactively." He added, "Innovative ICT systems are being utilized throughout the entire quarantine process, including diagnosis, epidemiological investigation, and treatment."

Chairman Han also emphasized, "With the World Health Organization (WHO) warning that the infodemic of fake news has reached a serious level, preventing the spread of fake news has become another important task for disaster recovery. This COVID-19 response has clearly made us recognize that not only the government but all members of our society must become agents monitoring fake news."

He introduced, "In particular, domestic broadcasters played a major role by fact-checking and reporting fake news, and internet service providers established an organic cooperative system that provides reliable information from the government and media tailored to their service characteristics, enabling the public to quickly acquire accurate information." In response, Ambassador Lefort highly praised Korea's COVID-19 response model, stating, "I am especially aware of the efforts to balance effective infectious disease response and protection of individual privacy during the epidemiological investigation process."

Both officials also agreed during this meeting on the need for policy cooperation between the two countries in the broadcasting and communications sector, including responses to illegal and harmful information on the internet and regulatory fairness among domestic and foreign service providers, and agreed to cooperate closely in the future.