International Counterterrorism Symposium Held... Discussing New Technology Threats and International Cooperation Measures

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] An international symposium discussing the threat of terrorism exploiting new technologies and ways to strengthen international cooperation against terrorism was held on the 20th at KINTEX in Ilsan.

The '2022 High-Level International Counterterrorism Symposium' is the first international symposium jointly hosted with the United Nations since the Police University opened the International Counterterrorism Research Center last year. It was jointly organized by the Police University, the National Police Agency, the National Security Association, the Korea-US Joint Foundation, and the UN Counter-Terrorism Office under the theme of 'New Technology Terrorism Threats and International Cooperation.' About 250 officials attended, including Ban Ki-moon, the 8th UN Secretary-General, Kim Chang-ryong, Commissioner of the National Police Agency, Jung Seung-jo, Chairman of the Korea-US Alliance Foundation, Jehan Gir Khan, Director of the UN Counter-Terrorism Center, Kim Hyuk-soo, Director of the Government Coordination Office Counterterrorism Center, Hong Kyu-deok, President of the National Security Association, and Lee Cheol-gu, President of the Police University, with over 200 participants joining online.

In the keynote speeches, Chairman Jung Seung-jo spoke on new security threats and international cooperation, former UN Deputy Secretary-General Kim Won-soo discussed the development of security and counterterrorism cooperation between the UN and Korea, and Director Jehan Gir Khan presented on the UN's counterterrorism activities and international cooperation measures. The symposium was conducted in three sessions covering terrorist financing tracking and financial blocking, drone terrorism, and cyberterrorism. Professor Byun Jin-seok of Sookmyung Women's University chaired the first session, which featured presentations and discussions on 'Tracking Terrorist Financing and Financial Blocking.' The second session, moderated by Kang Wang-gu, Director of the Aerospace Research Institute, involved discussions, and the third session included a presentation on 'Cyberterrorism' by Professor Kang Wook of the Police University.

Former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon emphasized in his congratulatory remarks that "good governance, the operating system of the international community, is necessary to respond to terrorism." Commissioner Kim Chang-ryong stated, "This event is meaningful as it evaluates the current state of preparedness against new technology terrorism threats and jointly explores future directions with related agencies." President Lee Cheol-gu of the Police University highlighted the importance of domestic and international cooperation, saying, "With the enforcement of the Anti-Terrorism Act, the police's responsibilities and authority as the main agency responding to general domestic terrorism incidents have been strengthened, making the role of the Police University, as a think tank for future security policies, even more important."