Visits to the UK and South America and high-level meetings held in Korea Minister of Information and Communication Chin Dae-je has enhanced the status of Korea's IT power around the world through his recent visits to Europe and Latin America. On Sept. 5-7, he visited London and held a series of "National Information Technology (IT) IRs" to attract more foreign investors to Korea. On Sept. 5, Minister Chin attended the "Korea Telecom & Technology Conference 2005 in London" held at the headquarters of Goldman Sachs. At the conference with some 100 overseas investors in attendance, he requested them to expand their investment in the Korean IT industry. At the investment promotion event, CEOs from the nation's eight major IT companies, including KT, SKT, TU Media, Hanaro Telecom, Dacom, and Samsung SDI, held one-on-one business consultations with major global investors, while explaining Korea's advanced IT technology and favorable business environment. Minister Chin also introduced Korea's overall economic situation, the current status of the nation's IT industry, IT 839 strategy and the government's communication service policy to such world-famous investment institutions JP Morgan and Ernst &Young. Meeting with fund managers from JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch and other global investment firms through a keynote speech or individual interviews, Chin introduced his country's updated IT industry and offered MIC's vision of the IT industry. In particular, in a meeting with Richard Gnodde, vice chairman of Goldman Sachs International, Chin exchanged views on expanded foreign investment in promising small Korean enterprises. In an interview with Business Week, he explained Korea's broadband Internet and CDMA as well as the Korean market as a "test bed." CEOs of Dacom, KT, SK Telecom, TU Media, LG Philips-LCD, and Samsung SDI accompanied him on the briefing sessions. He also participated in the EU IT Ministers' Meeting of the i2010 Conference on Sept. 6 and the Korea- Britain Mobile Communication Forum in London on Sept. 7. Delivering a keynote speech on a theme of the government's role under rapidly-changing IT industry environment at the i2010 Conference, chaired by Britain, Chin explained Korea's IT policy and Koreans' efforts to realize u-Korea, which were credited with achieving great economic success in his country. Minister Chin was invited as one of the six keynote speakers of the i2010 Conference, which aims to ensure that Europe's businesses, governments and citizens make the best use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to improve industrial competitiveness and support growth, as well as create more jobs. Minister Chin was the first Asian official to deliver a keynote speech at the EU IT Ministers' Meeting of the i2010 Conference. Ahead of this event, Minister Chin met with Viviane Reding, chair of the EU Information, Society and Media Committee, and agreed in principle to bolster bilateral cooperation between Korea and the EU in the IT sector. Chin also requested Reding to help Korean research centers and enterprises actively participate in the major R&D programs of the EU. In addition, Minister Chin held the Korea-Britain IT Ministers' Meeting with Alun Michael, Minister of State for Industry and the Regions, and sought ways to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in such matters as the advancement of Korea's DMB into Britain and information protection. Chin explained Korea's IT vision for the next decade to his British counterpart and they agreed to closely cooperate in the IT sector through frequent seminars. At the Korea-Britain Mobile Communication Forum, Minister Chin discussed with representatives from 60 British companies bilateral cooperation between Korea and Britain in the wire & wireless communication, DMB, and other informa- tion and communication service sectors. Moving to South America, on Sept. 8, Minister Chin visited Mexico and held IT talks with Jorge Alvarez, Mexican vice minister of transportation and communication in a bid to prepare for the advancement of Korea's terrestrial DMB into Central and Latin America. Chin and Alvarez concluded an agreement on technology exchanges and bilateral cooperation in the digital broadcasting sector, paving the way for Korean enterprises to advance into Mexico, the biggest market in Latin America. The agreement calls for close cooperation between the two countries in state-ofthe- art digital broadcasting technologies such as terrestrial DMB, data broadcasting, and equalization digital on-channel repeater (EDOCR). As Mexico has adopted the advanced television systems committee (ATSC) method as the DTV standard like Korea, the two countries are expected to enjoy great effects in wide fields through the pact. On Sept. 9, Minister Chin participated in the "Korea-Latin America ICT Conference" where about 350 IT-related government officials and business leaders from South Korea, Mexico, other Latin American countries and global organizations, including the World Bank, attended. At the conference, a total of 23 institutions from Korea and Mexico introduced their advanced IT technologies, including DMB. Through his visit to Mexico, Minister Chin has succeeded in building close cooperative ties in the IT sector with Latin American countries, including Mexico. On a tour of Costa Rica on Sept. 12, Minister Chin discussed ways of strengthening cooperation in the field of information and communication with his Costa Rican counterpart, signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on science and technology. Chin visited Costa Rica as part of an official entourage of President Roh Moohyun on a 10-day tour to Mexico, Costa Rica and the U.N. Chin suggested that Costa Rican people be invited to Korea for training in IT, including informatization, e-government and asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL). He also revealed his intention to dispatch South Korea's voluntary youth corps and a team for consultation on information technology and policy to Costa Rica. The IT market in Costa Rica is growing rapidly as the country has recently begun focusing on constructing infrastructure for informatization and IT. The ministers' meeting and the conclusion of MOU between the two countries are expected to contribute greatly to promoting exchanges and cooperation in the IT industry. Meanwhile, back in Korea, Minister Chin met with his Portuguese counterpart on Sept. 16 in Seoul and discussed ways of expanding cooperation in the field of information technology (IT), including digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) and mobile communication. Chin, introducing the nation's infrastructure for the ultra-high speed Internet and the government's IT 839 policy, suggested the exchange of human resources and technical cooperation in the IT sector, including DMB and WiBro, a broadband wireless Internet technology developed by the South Korean telecom industry. After signing the memorandum of understanding for mutual cooperation in the IT field, the visiting Portuguese minister observed the "Ubiquitous Dream Exhibition Hall" (U-dream) on the first floor of the Ministry of Information and Communication in Seoul, experiencing the reality of South Korea's advanced IT industry. Meeting with James Plummer, visiting dean of Stanford University, in Seoul on Sept. 21, Minister Chin also discussed ways for cooperation in joint research between Stanford University's College of Engineering and a Korean university and establishment of a Stanford school in the Songdo Economic Free Zone Chin said the combination of Korea's sophisticated IT infrastructure and his ministry's future-oriented IT strategy with Stanford's excellent educational know-how will create opportunities in the field that could lead Asia and the world. Chin and Plummer also exchanged opinions on exploring joint research with the Information and Communications University in Daejeon and awarding joint degrees. Plummer said Stanford has much interest in cooperation with Korea and elsewhere in Asia, adding his school was running a small pilot project for the establishment of global connection in this field. The two sides agreed to continue discussions on the proposed cooperation by exchanging related information and data.