77.6% South Koreans now online

Senator and Chairman of the Culture, Sports, and Tourism, Broadcasting and Communications Committee at the Korean National Assembly, Mr. Heung Kil Ko, has said that 77.6 per cent of South Korean citizens are now online.

Speaking at the recently concluded meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN’s) 36th international public session in Seoul, South Korea, Mr. Kil Ko, highlighted the importance of an efficiently and stably managed Internet Protocol (IP) address system, as well as dealing with security threats such as hacking and phishing.

He stressed the fact that the conference would lead to closer ties between ICANN and Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA), a public agency that plays a major role in developing and researching the Internet in Korea.

Equally speaking at the opening session of ICANN public meeting, the chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, Mr. See Joong Choi, noted that though the Internet in the last 40 years has had immense impact globally.

He also emphasized on the importance IP addresses as assets for the future and has become a common resource for all, thus welcoming the introduction of Internationalization of Domain Names (IDNs) as paving a “new way toward the future.”

Ms. Hee Jung Kim also applauded the introduction of IDNs, and recent change in the Joint Project Agreement (JPA) that ICANN had with the United States government as strengthening the autonomy of the IP addressing system.

ITRealms Online recalled that the JPA deal was concluded last September, 2009, while over 1,207 participants attended the conference from 111 different countries, who engaged in a wide range of discussions about the Internet’s domain name system and related issues.

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