The celebration for the 56th Information and Communication Day was held at the Korean Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI), which was co-hosted by the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) and the Ministry of Knowledge and Economy in Seoul on April 22. The Chairman of KCC, Choi Si-joong and the Minister of Knowledge and Economy, Choi Joong-kyung and about 500 other people attended and graced the occasion with their presence.
Information and Communications Day has become the opportunity to build cooperation with the branches of government related to IT, bring thoughts from the people on information and communications and to advance Korea's IT industry.
The Chairman of KCC, Choi See-joong delivered words of encouragement and rewarded people of information and communications for their dedicated labor, which made Korea the top in the field.
In addition, he mentioned that people who have become legends in the IT field have a periodical mission to make Korea the best in the world in smart technology. The government will invest KRW 7 trillion by 2015 for the 'Giga Korea' project, which aims to develop a mobile system that is faster than 4G, so that Korea can take the leadership in the world market for the mobile industry. Technical development without IT security and ethics is like a house of cards, so he requested companies to invest for safer networks and technical development.
The Minister of Knowledge and Economy, Choi Joong-kyung appreciated the efforts to make Korea a powerful nation in information and communications. He mentioned that last year was a hallmark year for IT exports, which reached an all time high of US$ 153.9 billion and Korea's postal service had a surplus for 13 straight years.
In the event, the Visiting Professor from KAIST, Oh Taek-seop and Eom Gi-ho from the Jaecheon Post Office received the Gold Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit and the Order of Service Merit.
The Director General of Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, Kim Bong-tae and the President of the Well Technology System, Lee Jong-gu got industry medals. Six people from the Korea Information Society Development Institute and Kim Tae-eun and Song Ho-gwan from the Hwacheon Post Office got presidential citations. The Director of SK Telecom, Lee Jin-u and Lee Hyang-sun from the West Gwangju Post Office got minister commendations. The grand prize went to Professor Lee Byeong-gi from the Seoul National University.
Professor Lee Byeong-gi who has worked at Seoul National University, founded the Joint Conference on Communications and Information (JCCI), which is the best symposium on information and communications in Korea, published the Journal of Communications and Networks (JCN) and established the Asia-Pacific Conference on Communications (APCC). Moreover, he has served as a member of the standing committee till recently. Professor Lee stated, "It is glad of me to achieve recognition of an academic infrastructure in Korea. I believe that it is just a progress of growth in information and communications." Professor Lee has been selected as the first president in the Asia-Pacific region of IEEE ComSoc, which is the world's top academic society.
The 56th Information and Communications Day ended in great success, which was the day when passion and confidence from the profession of information and communications could be witnessed.
Korea to lead the Global Convergence
My respected fellow citizens of information technology (IT), I congratulate this Information and Communication Day with every person of this nation. 127 years ago, on this very day, the first post office was established. After adopting the post office as a modern communication system, it was rapidly developed into IT to play a major role in our economy by forming one-third of our nation's exports.
Last year, Korea achieved US$ 153.9 billion worth of exports, which is the greatest exportation result of all time. Thanks to InfoTech to play a vital role to raise Korea's global exports to rank as the seventh largest exporter worldwide.
Also, with 40,000 employees working in harmony, the post office business also made a monumental landmark as number one in customer satisfaction for 12 consecutive years and operating in the black for 13 consecutive years.
This kind of achievement is not done by chance. This achievement was only possible through your own hard work in order to reach the set goal. I lavishly praise your hard work and passion, and also congratulate heartily for those who received honorable merits.
My fellow citizens of IT, by making our national income increase to US$ 40,000, we should now leap to a country with advanced economy.
Currently, our government has placed convergence on the core of InfoTech policy and is trying its best to take the lead in the rapidly growing global convergence market. First, by concentrating mainly on creating new growth engines by converging IT with different industries and the government
In order for convergence to spread in all fields, the government legislated industry convergence promotion law needs to be established and through cultivating talented personnel in the field of convergence will ensure continued growth for years to come.
Also in the field of post office business, by opening the post office network to ordinary people, we will enable different kind of convergence services. For the convenience of ordinary people in the usage of post office finance, we will expand the mobile finance service as well. But I believe that your role as citizens of InfoTech is truly important in order for our country to take the lead in the global convergence market. Therefore, I sincerely ask for your support.
First of all, I would like to suggest the entrepreneurs to turn your eyes to the convergence market and actively participate in investment projects. Also, I would like to ask you to create a management culture within your organization that is appropriate for convergence. For convergence to bear fruit, creativity and diversity should be promoted.
Last but not least, I ask you to create an industrial ecosystem where major firms recognize small businesses as partners and promote combination growth.
My respected fellow citizens of IT, 30 years ago, we had nothing, but now we stand firm as a strong nation of InfoTech. Commercializing CDMA for the first time in the world, attaining first place in the memory chip industry, establishing the world call mail distribution system, and many more, we created results that surprised the world.
Starting was a challenge and every moment was a crisis, but by the passion of creating new history, we did it. And now is the time for Korea to lead the global convergence market and the global IT industry.
I wish for tremendous success in IT and in everything you do.
Thank you.
Take a Leap to Become a Legend in the "Smart" Industry!
Today is the 56th anniversary of the Information and Communication Day. 127 years ago today, the Postal Service Administration, Korea's first authorities in charge for communication services, was established. In commemoration of this day, the Communication Day, which was set in 1956, has changed its name to the Information and Communication Day in 1994 to get to where we are today.
Though we were a step behind in modernization and the country was burnt to the ground after the Korean War, with the perseverance and potential of our own, we have now grown into one of the leading nations of the world. .
In the very heart of that, ladies and gentlemen, is Korea's IT. A global leader of memory chips and LCD panels, second-best in shipbuilding and the mobile phone industry, number one broadband distribution rate and e-government readiness index and so on. Therefore, there are a lot of indicators showing where Korea's information and communication industry is now in the world.
In particular, the IT industry ran a trade surplus of US$ 17.45 billion in the first quarter of this year; more than double that of the entire industry (8.4 billion). IT has indeed become the heart of our economy. Again, I give a warm round of applause to those in IT and communication services who have devotedly gave their efforts as we have become the 'IT powerhouse' of today.
Dear fellow workers in information and communication, as the Chairman of the Korea Communication Commission leading the field of broadcasting, communication and Internet, I have never allowed myself to stop thinking. "What is it that we should do at this moment in order for us to pass on this privilege of IT Korea to our descendants in thirty years, no, a hundred years" In the information and communication field, where innovations are made by the seconds, the once glorious past does not by any means guarantee a promising future.
The topmost IT companies that ruled over the world till just a year or two years ago are going through crises due to failure in adapting to changes. The fact that smartphone users in Korea have exceeded 10 million clearly shows that the entire world, not to mention Korea, is swept by the wave of the 'smart revolution.'
The smart revolution is a new crisis and at the same time an opportunity that we now face. Apple and domestic companies are going through fierce battles to take the 'smart market,' and companies in the information and communication industry worldwide are developing strategic alliances.
The competition for technology and system development to secure the market is intense. It is now a mission of the time for all of you who created this IT legend to once again create the 'smart legend.' The government faces heavy responsibility as well. I earnestly ask of you to lead the global market with passion and will. The government will give you full support.
The government is in course of preparation for the 'Giga Korea' project, establishing high speed mobile network beforehand by investing 7 trillion won until the year 2015. This is an expression of intent to take the upper hand in the mobile global market of the next generation. Finally, I would like to emphasize on the fact that technology advances without IT security and IT ethics in the background is nothing more than a house of cards. A series of incidents such as the DDoS incident, the hacking at Hyundai Capital, Nonghyub's network crash raised growing concerns for the importance of cyber security.
In this smart generation, we must become a nation where individual rights are fully guaranteed through IT ethics and security, as well as a society where all people equally receive those benefits.
The government too will be at the forefront for this mission, but the companies in the information and communication industry must take the initiative in investment and technology development for a safer network. Allowing people to feel safer and fully enjoy the benefits of the smart revolution is one of the utmost tasks in order for us to become a 'smart industry leader.'
I have not the slightest doubt that Korea's information and communication will brightly shine as our leading brand in the upcoming future. The government will take a leap with you towards becoming a smart leader.
