'Internet Governance'
NIDA holds the Second Internet Governance Symposium

The National Internet Development Agency of Korea (NIDA) held the Second Internet Governance Symposium in commemoration of Information and Communication Month, on June 3, 2005.
The symposium provided a valuable opportunity for Korean and foreign Internet experts and users to verify the importance of Internet governance in the global context and to discuss desirable directions of an Internet governance system. Registrations were made of charge so that the more participants can engage in in-depth discussion to explore ways of promoting Internet development. The participants focused on general concept of Internet governance, current situation of Korean Internet governance and direction of the nation's governance through state-of-the-art communication tools.
The event was also supported by the Korea Information Strategy Development Institute, Telecommunications Technology Association, Korea Information Science Society, Korean Society of Internet Information, Society of Mobile Technology, Korea Association of Internet Infrastructure Promotion, Internet Association of Korea.
NIDA was founded in 1999 as a non-profit organization with the goal of building a stable Internet address management system.
In 2004, NIDA officially became a statutory organization subsidiary to the Ministry of Information and Communication in accordance with the Article 9 of the Act on Internet Address Resources, and it has absorbed the Korea Network Information Center (KRNIC).
Since then, NIDA has been in charge of allocating and managing Internet addresses in an efficient manner including research and development activities designed to increase the use of Internet.
It has been focusing on establishing a stable framework for managing the Internet address resources and promoting international cooperation and comprehensive policies.
As a sub-organization of NIDA, Korea Network Information Center (KRNIC) has endeavored in allocation and assignment of domestic IP addresses and registration of .KR domains.
In addition, NIDA has showed continuous support for international cooperation and development in Internet through its outreach programs for developing countries and active participation in various international organizations and conferences.
NIDA has been playing a key role in Internet development of Korea based on Korea's world-class high-speed network infrastructure. The organization has been putting priority on developing a stable policy regarding domain names and IP addresses.
Its goal has also been to improve education and distribution policy of Internet protocol addresses (IP/AS) and encourage Internet use by developing and providing various Internet-related services.
Other activities include reinforcing advertising activities to encourage the use of Internet and providing customer-oriented, high-quality service.
Song Kwan-ho, president of NIDA, has been committed to developing the organization as a small but strong institute with the aim of providing the people with further effective and convenient Internet using environment. "We are firmly dedicated to establishing efficient Internet system and are putting emphasis on setting up full-fledge Ubiquitous network this year,"Song said during a press interview.
NIDA and the Information and Communication Technology Authority of Mongol(ITCA, Chairman Saikhanbileg) signed an MOU on the 30th this month in Ulan Bator -the capital of Mongolia, to promote Internet use and IT information sharing in Korea and Mongolia. The MOU is expected to serve as the foundation of civil exchanges between the two nations, as NIDA and ICTA have agreed on collaborative efforts to promote Internet use in both countries and to bridge information divide in Asia. ICTA seemed to place high hope on the cooperative relationship with Korea, one of the most coveted global IT and Internet powerhouse.
In addition to the MOU, NIDA and ICTA agreed to co-host the ?-Connect 2005: the 3rd International Seminar on the Trends of Internet Address Resource Management and Technologies?in September, in order to raise awareness of the importance of the Internet and IT technologies among Mongols. As in the cases of the previous two seminars, respectively, in Cambodia (2003) and Sri Lank(2004), the third seminar in Mongolia is expected to be a precious opportunity to introduce Korea's superior technological prowess and related policies. In addition, the event will serve as a place for mutual exchanges between Korean IT companies, Mongolian IT experts and high-level officials, to help the Korean IT firms to explore the overseas market.
The MOU is of great significance in that the Korean IT industry has secured a springboard for the Central Asian market. NIDA President, Song, Kwan-Ho observed, "The more countries cooperate, the more the IT sector including the Internet grows."He also said, "t is Korea's responsibility as an Internet powerhouse to encourage and support participation of late-comers. In this vein, NIDA plans to extend the scope and national boundaries of participation." The organization has also been taking measures to help less developed countries in their bids to develop Internet network.
For one thing, the NIDA is set to provide assistance for the setup of relevant system and provision of education. Having offered assistance in nations like Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Laos last year, it is also seeking to extend similar support for other developing countries in the future. nw

Song Kwan-ho, president of the National Internet Development Agency of Korea