Minister Lee Jong-ho Attends ITU Plenipotentiary Conference... Shares Korea's ICT Policies

Minister Lee Jong-ho (left) is taking a photo with Houlin Zhao, Secretary-General of the ITU. Photo by Ministry of Science and ICT

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] The Ministry of Science and ICT announced that Minister Lee Jong-ho attended the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Plenipotentiary Conference held in Bucharest, the capital of Romania, starting on the 25th.

The ITU is a UN-affiliated specialized international organization for ICT that manages international frequencies, satellite orbits, technical standards, and support for developing countries. It has 193 member countries, and the Plenipotentiary Conference is ITU's highest decision-making body held every four years. It was previously held in Busan in 2014.

Minister Lee was invited to the ministerial roundtable held on the morning of the same day local time by the host country Romania to adopt the Bucharest Ministerial Declaration themed "A Better Digital Future for All." He expressed the Korean government's support for the ministerial declaration and introduced Korea's digital inclusion policies and contributions to bridging the digital divide in the international community.

During this Plenipotentiary Conference, elections for ITU senior officials and council members are also held.

In this election, Korea is challenging for the ITU senior position of Deputy Secretary-General and the re-election for the council member position for the ninth term. The elections will begin with the senior official elections on the 29th, followed by council member elections on October 3rd. For the Deputy Secretary-General position, Lee Jae-seop, the current Director of the ITU Standardization Bureau, is running against candidates from Lithuania and Samoa. For the council member seats, 16 countries are competing for 13 seats allocated to the Asia-Pacific region.

Minister Lee conducted bilateral meetings with five countries including Slovenia, Romania, Australia, Malaysia, and Egypt before and after the ministerial roundtable, and took the opportunity during the event to meet key figures individually to campaign for the ITU elections and the bid to host the Busan World Expo.

On the 26th, Minister Lee will attend the Heads of Delegation meeting and the opening ceremony. At the Heads of Delegation meeting, chairs of eight committees including the Management Committee and sectoral committees will be appointed. Jeon Seon-min, a senior research fellow at the Korea Information Society Development Institute, is expected to be appointed to the 5th Committee, which is responsible for policy matters. This will be an achievement that can raise Korea's status within the ITU.

Minister Lee stated, "As an ICT advanced country, Korea already has high recognition in the international community, and the demand for policy sharing and contributions is increasing. Amid the global digital transformation and change after COVID-19, we will fulfill our role as a responsible member of the international community to create opportunities for digital innovation and bridge the digital divide."