Attended the 'New York Digital Vision Forum'
Signed the Korea-US AI Digital Business Partnership
On the 21st (local time), President Yoon Suk-yeol, while in New York, USA, announced the five key principles to be included in the 'Digital Bill of Rights,' stating, "The Republic of Korea will strive to ensure that no country is left behind in the digital era and that all countries worldwide can enjoy digital benefits together." This strategy aims to lead the formation of digital norms contributing globally while creating a favorable environment for our academia and businesses.
President Yoon delivered a keynote speech at the 'New York Digital Vision Forum' held at New York University that morning, announcing five principles: ▲ Contributing to the expansion of freedom ▲ Ensuring fair competition, innovation opportunities, and fair trade of outcomes ▲ Immediate sharing of safety and risk information related to digital technologies ▲ Pursuing continuous digital innovation ▲ Establishing norms and cooperating in enforcement through international solidarity.
This visit to New York University marks exactly one year since President Yoon's last visit on September 21 of last year. At that time, he attended the Digital Vision Forum hosted by NYU and emphasized the need for new norms in response to the development of digital technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), stating, "We must pool our wisdom to establish an autonomous and rational normative system for digital technologies."
Since then, in June, President Yoon announced the 'Paris Initiative' at Sorbonne University in Paris, proposing the establishment of an international organization for digital norm formulation. On the 6th of this month, at the Korea-ASEAN Summit held in Jakarta, Indonesia, he announced plans to promote a $30 million 'Digital Innovation Flagship Project' to enhance digital accessibility and welfare in ASEAN countries. Four days later, on the 10th, at the G20 Summit held in New Delhi, India, he introduced plans to announce the 'Digital Bill of Rights,' which concretizes the establishment of digital order norms.
First, President Yoon clearly stated that digital technologies, including AI, should contribute to expanding human freedom rather than suppressing it. He emphasized that personal expression through digital means must be conducted responsibly so as not to infringe on others' rights and must not be used to amplify unjust discrimination and prejudice.
He also stressed that opportunities for competition and innovation in digital technologies and related benefits must be distributed fairly. To this end, President Yoon pointed out that rights related to digital assets must be clearly defined based on development and compensation systems, and that free contractual trade of data and outcomes must be guaranteed. Furthermore, since digital data and information are public goods, fair access and equal opportunities must be ensured for everyone, and sufficient digital literacy education must be provided to address disparities in digital usage capabilities.
He urged that digital technologies must not threaten individual and societal safety, and that risk information should be shared and disclosed immediately. President Yoon mentioned the need to establish and maintain corresponding regulatory systems to prevent digital technologies from becoming threats. He explained, "If we fail to prevent the spread of fake news caused by the misuse of AI and digital technologies, liberal democracy will be threatened, the market economy based on liberal democracy will be endangered, and our future and the lives of future generations will also be at risk."
On the other hand, he explained that unnecessary regulations should be improved and continuous digital innovation encouraged for sustainable prosperity of humanity. President Yoon emphasized, "Digital innovation activities based on freedom and creativity must be thoroughly guaranteed, and various supports such as human resource development, research and development investment, and infrastructure construction must be provided together. Unreasonable regulations that restrict innovation should be boldly improved so that new digital technologies and services can be continuously created."
Moreover, he called for international solidarity and cooperation to ensure that digital technologies contribute to world peace and the common prosperity of humanity. President Yoon urged, "The entire world must establish universal digital norms that are internationally applicable and closely cooperate in enforcing these digital norms. Now that all cultures and industries are based on digital technologies due to digital advancement, the global community should collectively support the Digital South?countries with insufficient digital dissemination and utilization?to reduce the Digital Divide and guarantee fair digital access among nations."
At this forum, the Korea-US AI Digital Business Partnership was signed. Through collaboration among the Institute for Information & Communications Technology Planning and Evaluation (IITP), Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Software Industry Promotion Association, and New York University, cooperation will span from AI talent development to research and development (R&D) and commercialization. AI convergence research for developing foundational AI technologies and industrial applications will be pursued, with Korea planning to invest a total of 45 billion KRW over five years and the US side contributing a corresponding amount. Additionally, outstanding master's and doctoral students in the AI digital field will be selected, educated by NYU, and involved in joint projects. President Yoon stated, "The memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed today will serve as a foundation to strengthen solidarity with New York University. I hope that by expanding areas of cooperation, researchers and companies from both countries will freely innovate and grow together globally."
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