On June 13 to 15, the Korean Cable Television Association (KCTA) held its KCTA Exhibition & Conference 2007 at the International Convention Center (ICC) in Jeju Island. It was the largest conference of its kind in recent years, and was wellattended by members and visitors alike.
Dr. Jacques Attali of France began with a special lecture on the changing lifestyle of the digital age. Dr. Attali is a professor, writer, honorary member of the Council of State, and special advisor to the French President from 1981 to 1991. He is also a columnist for the magazine L'Express. He has written many books which have been translated into more than twenty languages. He spoke on a variety of topics, from the future of Korea's Cable TV industry to the impact of Korean technology on its relationship with North Korea.
After a tea break, a Round Table was held with several notable figures serving on the discussion panel. These were Jee Seung-lim, president of Alticast; Lee Gwan-hoon, CEO of CJ CableNet; Bae Joon-dong, senior vice president of SKT; Kwon John-il, managing director of the Carlyle Group; Suh Byung-moon, CEO of KOCCA, Kim Mun-yeon, CEO of JBC; Choi Hwi-younger, CEO of NHN; and Jonathan Spink, CEO of HBO Asia.
The conference continued on the second day with several different lectures to attend. Lectures on the policy direction to ensure fair competition under a convergence era, how to secure content competitiveness, and how to enhance digital conversion and improve regulatory framework were well-attended. In fact, all of the lectures at the conference were standing room only.
The show floor was much larger than in previous years. Two full rooms of the ICC were used to house the booths. Hardware, software, and content companies were in abundant supply. Most notably, many foreign companies that were developing Digital TV hardware were in attendance. The American company BigBand Networks was on hand to showcase its switched broadcasting solution, and the German company EdBox Systems exhibited its , and 3,283 registered participants attended this year.
