Korea, First Venue of OECD
Ministerial Meeting in Asia

NIDA organizes meeting titled "Convergence2"

The 2008 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Ministerial Meeting on the Future of the Internet Economy was held in Seoul in June under the theme "Convergence, Creativity and Confidence."The ministerial meeting attracted attention not only because it was held in Asia for the first time since the establishment of the OECD, but also because it was in Korea, a nation with a solid IT foundation.
As expected, as many as 2,278 participants from 70 countries, including 27 OECD member country ministers and vice ministers and 10 non-OECD member country ministers and vice ministers as well as authorities from international organizations and the global information and communication technology industry (ICT) gathered in Seoul for the meeting on June 16-18.
The National Internet Development Agency of Korea (NIDA) organized a conference titled "Convergence2,"one of the side events held prior to the OECD Ministering Meeting at the COEX Conference Center on June 16 at 10 a.m.
The conference was designed to commemorate Korea's opening of the so-called Convergence Era"as well as the establishment of the Korea Communications Commission.
NIDA President Park Syung-kyoo delivered a speech during the opening session of the conference, which was followed by Korea Communications Commission Standing Commissioner Hyung Tae-geun, who gave a commemorative message. Vivian Reading, the commissioner of the EU's Information Society and Media and Prof. Chung Suk-won of Hanyang University also delivered keynote speeches.
NIDA President Park said, "The number of households using high-speed Internet has surpassed 15 million, and seven out of every 10 Koreans have access to the Internet. With Web 2.0 and UCC (user created contents) becoming popular topics, the Internet has become a society designed to create added value through participating, sharing and opening, and a new world is unfolding with the development of such technologies as u-City, RFID and sensor network."
"The recent upgrade of the broadband convergence network, the enactment of a law concerning Internet-based multi-media businesses and the commercialization of such convergence services as Internet telephony and Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) herald the launch of the full-fledged Convergence Era,"he noted.
True to "Convergence,"one of the three themes of the OECD Ministerial Meeting together with "Creativity"and "Confidence,"he said, the "Convergence2"conference was designed to preview changes in the economic, industrial and social and cultural fields the convergence era will bring about and to discuss their future development, the NIDA president said.
The highlight of the morning session of the conference was a keynote speech by Prof. Chung of Hanyang University, who spoke about Korea, an IT powerhouse, which is at the frontline of ushering in an era of combining communications and broadcasting.
The afternoon session of the conference proceeded with Korean and foreign experts"presentations of papers on three themes -- "Convergence & Economy," "Convergence & Industry,"and "Convergence & Social Culture."Lee W. McKnight, associate professor at the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University in New York, spoke about economic growth and employment in the macroeconomic perspective on the session on "Convergence & Economy."Prof. Lee Young-ho of Korea University announced his thesis on digital business changes caused by convergence. In the session on "Convergence & Industry,"KT Managing Director Lee Sang-hong and Prof. Nakamura Koyoshi of Waseda University dealt with Korean and Japanese cases of combining communications and broadcasting. In the session on "Convergence & Social Culture,"Prof. Han Jun of Yonsei University and President Kim Kuk-jin of Media Future Research Institute spoke about daily life and changes facing the media. nw

National Internet Development Agency of Korea (NIDA) Park Syung-kyoo

(Korean and international ICT experts assemble for the international conference, titled "Conference2"organized by NIDA as a side event of the OECD Ministerial Meeting.