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By Kim Tae-gyu
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| William Hague U.K. Foreign Secretary |
"I think the conference is going very well and I am very pleased that South Korea agreed to host this conference," Hague said in an interview on the sidelines of the conference.
"It's a very appropriate country to do so because it is one of the most connected countries in the world with the fastest internet speed in the world. The population of this country knows and understands cyberspace very well."
The 52-year-old said that delegates to the Seoul forum must warn against excessive government control of the Internet.
"There is a division of opinion in the world. There are a lot of people who think the Internet requires more government regulation and government control," he said.
"I think we have to make the arguments that this is not just about governments, this is something for individuals, for companies. It has grown naturally and it has no big designs by governments."
He added that it is very important for the Internet to remain globally accessible, free and open ― recognizing the imperative to guard against any government that tries to put people behind the firewall.
The remarks are in tandem with his speech delivered during the opening ceremony of the third edition of the annual gatherings.
"I am convinced that placing the controls of cyberspace entirely in the hands of governments would be a drastic error that would have profound social and economic consequences," he said.
"The dead hand of state control would be as stifling for the Internet as it has been for economies in the past. It would erect barriers that impede the free flow of ideas, and would lead to a ghettoized or two-tier cyberspace that hinders free trade and holds back economic growth and development."
He added that the world of closed, fragmented Internets would certainly be less free and democratic ― it would also be less creative, less innovative, less progressive and, ultimately, less prosperous than a world with a single and open Internet.
"The Internet is the heartbeat of the global economy, linking businesses that are based thousands of miles apart and constantly creating new markets, industries and technologies," he said.
Hague was elected to the House of Commons in a by-election in 1989. He later became the leader of the Conservative Party after it was defeated in the 1997 general election.
The Oxford University graduate, who served as leader of the Conservative Party from June 1997 to Sept. 2001, assumed roles of First Secretary of State and Foreign Secretary in 2010.
