Mr. Secretary General, Distinguished representatives, and Ladies and Gentlemen, It is my great honor to be speaking here this outstanding Conference on behalf of the Korean government.

ITU, a representative agency in the world's telecommunication,

has served as the main pillar for international cooperation on the development of global telecommunication.

The union has also contributed to the improvement in economy and quality of life by supporting the development of telecommunication among its member countries. In particular, it has been committed to preventing and addressing digital divides across nations and regions.

I believe that such efforts made by ITU have been a key to the rapid spread and increase in use of ICT around the world,

including developing nations.

However, despite the relentless efforts of the governments and the secretariat of ITU, we are still left with the old challenge of international and regional digital divides and even are faced with the new challenges arising from ICT advancements.

Looking at global economic situations, ever since the 2008 global financial crisis, many countries are still suffering from sluggish economy and high unemployment.

And here, I would like to emphasize the importance of ICTs in overcoming economic depression by referring to Korea's case.

When the Asian financial crisis struck in 1997, Korea was hit hard.

However, with adequate economic and industrial policies, we were able to successfully overcome the crisis. In particular, investing heavily on building ICT infrastructures and nurturing ICT human resources became the foundations of the Korean ICT industry, which is now responsible for 9% of Korea's GDP and 30% of exports. And I believe this could become an exemplary model for developing nations.

Ladies and gentlemen, in this regard, we are privileged to host PP-14 this October in Busan. I am very much honored to invite all of you to beautiful city of Busan. And hopefully we are going to prepare at least 14 vitamins for the good health of your society.

In Korea, we have a dedicated and trustful candidate for the director of TSB and we are also running for the ITU council of upcoming PP-14. I seek your sincere support.

Lastly, I would like to extend my words of gratitude to the government of the United Arab Emirates and the ITU Secretariat who have done so much to organize this meeting.

I truly hope this event will become a venue for constructive and creative discussions, and become a source of the next four-year's vision and action plans, contributing to the advancement of ICTs and our member states' co-prosperity.

Thank you for your kind attention.