Korea to ink deal on cybersecurity with WB

The World Bank and Korea Communications Commission (KCC) will sign a deal next week on a joint project to establish a “Global Cybersecurity Center” in Korea, officials said yesterday.

The World Bank, headed by Korean-born physician Jim Yong Kim, proposed it set up the center late this year, they said.

The facility will be tasked with promoting cybersecurity and other information protection in developing nations.

“The World Bank and KCC plan to sign an MOU on establishing the center in Korea,” a Korean government official said.

The signing ceremony will be held at the World Bank headquarters in Washington on Jan. 15, he added.

Hong Sung-kyu, a standing commissioner at the KCC, and Grace Yabrudy, the acting vice president of the World Bank, will sign the agreement. The KCC is in charge of Seoul’s policy on the Internet, broadcasting and telecommunications sectors.

The 187-nation World Bank aims to reduce poverty and support development, serving as a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries.

World Bank President Kim has expressed hope that Korea will play an active role in the campaign as a country that has risen from the ashes of the 1950-53 Korean War to become a vibrant democracy and a major global economic power.

Yonhap