Romania and the Republic of Korea: Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence, Digital Transformation and Cybersecurity

Artificial intelligence governance, the digitalization of public administration, digital identity, digital infrastructure and cybersecurity were at the heart of the forum organized by the National Institute for Research and Development in Informatics – ICI Bucharest, at the Palace of Parliament, in partnership with the Government of the Republic of Korea and under the high patronage of the Senate of Romania. The event brought together high-level representatives of public institutions from Romania and the Republic of Korea, alongside experts in artificial intelligence, digitalization, research and cybersecurity.

The opening session of the forum was attended by Cosmin-Alexandru Soare-Filatov, Presidential Adviser; Dan Reșitnec, Secretary-General of the Government of Romania; Clara Staicu, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; H.E. Seung-chul Hur, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Romania; Hyesun Choi, Director of AI Government Cooperation at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety of the Republic of Korea; Anton-Mugurel Rog, Head of the National Cyberint Center; Cătălin-Aurel Giulescu, President of the Authority for the Digitalization of Romania; Andrei Alexandru, President of the National Research Authority; Dan Cîmpean, Director of the National Directorate for Cyber Security; and Dr. Eng. Adrian-Victor Vevera, Director General of ICI Bucharest.

“We already have numerous collaborations in the field of innovation with Japan, European countries and other states. We are open to initiating, together with the National Research Authority, new collaborations with our partners in the Republic of Korea,” said Dr. Eng. Adrian-Victor Vevera, Director General of ICI Bucharest, who moderated the event.

The forum’s program focused both on presenting the experiences of the two countries and on identifying areas in which they can develop new forms of cooperation. Topics discussed included national artificial intelligence governance, digital transformation and the use of AI in public administration, the digitalization of local government, trusted digital infrastructure, digital identity and cyber resilience.

The South Korean side presented experiences and initiatives related to the use of AI in the public sector, the digital transformation of local government, the K-DID digital identity system and the UNI-PASS customs system. At the same time, the discussions highlighted the need for the use of artificial intelligence in public institutions to be accompanied by testing, evaluation and clear accountability mechanisms.

The forum thus provided a framework for practical dialogue between institutions from the two countries and highlighted opportunities to further cooperation in areas such as AI governance, digital administration, digital identity, cybersecurity, technological infrastructure and the exchange of expertise.