Notice

UK-Republic of Korea Digital Partnership

Published 22 November 2023

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Ministry of Science and ICT of the Republic of Korea (hereafter “the Participants”)

Desiring to establish a digital partnership to advance cooperation on digital issues (hereafter the “Partnership”); and

Intending to provide a strategic framework for the Participants to deliver concrete digital policy outcomes for the residents, businesses and economies of their two countries;

Have reached the following understanding:

Objective

1. The initial focus of the Partnership will be the following 4 pillars:

a. strengthening digital infrastructure;
b. fostering technological innovation;
c. reinforcing multi-stakeholder forums and approaches; and
d. improving baseline cyber security and securing critical technologies.

Context

2. New technology underpins our way of life: our economic prosperity; our national security and our freedom to live true to our values. In a world of accelerating technological change, increasing reliance on technology, and geopolitical instability, the two countries recognise the importance of working with like-minded partners to promote shared values, to unlock new economic opportunities, and to guard against new and emerging risks.

3. The Participants note the high degree of complementarity in their countries’ national strategies that shape their international technology engagement:

a. the Republic of Korea (RoK)’s Strategy for a Free, Peaceful, and Prosperous Indo-Pacific (2022) and the United Kingdom (UK)’s Integrated Review (2023) both emphasise fundamental freedoms, and an enduring commitment to upholding international norms and the rules-based international order;
b. the RoK’s Digital Strategy (2022) and the UK’s International Technology Strategy (2023) identify key technology areas of strategic focus, such as telecoms and artificial intelligence (AI), and emphasise the two countries’ shared ambition to play a leading role in shaping international technology norms.

4. As open trading nations, the two countries are aligned on maintaining free, fair and competitive digital markets. They are committed to building secure and resilient digital infrastructure and supply chains, and ensuring all stakeholder groups have a seat at the table in discussions on the future of the digital world. Both Participants believe data-driven technology can be a powerful force for good, spreading innovation, driving productivity, and catalysing significant social and economic benefits.

5. Recognising their common outlooks, the two countries seek to leverage their complementary strengths to support each other to stay at the frontier of technological advancement, and to contribute to ensuring global norms and standards consistent with their shared values. In the context of the emerging digital and technology landscape, the two countries acknowledge the need to promote and guide the open, responsible, secure and resilient development and deployment of new technologies.

6. The Partnership represents an important milestone in the delivery of the UK-Republic of Korea Bilateral Framework (2022). It builds on, and will coordinate jointly determined activities with and between, long standing bilateral collaborations in the science, technology and digital fields, including the Agreement on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (1985), the Memorandum of Understanding on ICT Cooperation (2013), and ongoing joint work to coordinate policies, conduct joint research and operate mobility programs through the Joint Committee Meeting on Science and Technology Cooperation, the ICT Policy Forum, the Cyber Policy Consultation and other bilateral forums.

Governance

7. The UK-RoK Digital Partnership Forum will oversee the functioning of the Partnership. It will be held annually and chaired by a Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT of the Republic of Korea and a Ministerial counterpart at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology of the United Kingdom. Separate working-level governance arrangements will be established under each policy area. The scope, objectives, and means of optimal cooperation will be reviewed as needed.

Joint actions

Pillar one: Strengthening digital infrastructure

Future telecoms and supply chain resilience

8. Robust and reliable digital infrastructure forms the backbone of a thriving digital economy. The Participants recognise the importance of a competitive and diverse telecoms supply market to drive innovation and efficiency across this sector, supporting the resilience of critical digital infrastructure. International collaboration and policy coordination between their national governments is necessary to drive long term and sustainable change in the supply market.

9. The Participants will:

a. collaborate to promote security, resilience, and interoperability within current and future telecoms networks, including in multilateral forums;
b. seek shared opportunities to further technological innovation within the telecoms sector, such as developing research and development (R&D) collaboration in areas including, but not limited to, 5G, 6G, and future wireless technologies such as Open RAN;
c. facilitate cooperation and partnerships between the two countries’ industry and academia.

Semiconductors

10. The Participants recognise that semiconductors are vitally important to the modern world. They maintain the functioning of critical sectors, such as healthcare, defence and communications, and enable advances across world-changing digital technologies such as AI, 5G/6G and quantum computing.

11. In view of the importance of semiconductors to the two countries’ economies, the Participants will:

a. foster the two countries’ collaboration in semiconductor R&D, focusing on areas of mutual interest and strengths, including, but not limited to (i) cutting-edge chip design; (ii) compound and advanced semiconductor materials; (iii) post-“Moore’s law” technologies, such as advanced packaging.
b. facilitate exchanges among specialist technology researchers in coordination with relevant stakeholders, including government bodies, industry, and academia.

Pillar two: Fostering technological innovation

Artificial intelligence

12. The Participants will work closely to promote safe, responsible, human-centric and trustworthy AI. The Participants will cooperate to strengthen interoperability between the two countries AI governance frameworks and develop talent for an AI future. Both Participants acknowledge the need to coordinate in multilateral forums to prevent market fragmentation and deliver a global AI landscape in line with the two countries’ shared values.

13. Recognising the importance and urgency of these issues, the Participants will:

a. explore opportunities for collaboration on interoperability and AI skills development;
b. promote agile approaches to AI governance, based on clear evidence and multi-stakeholder engagement;
c. deepen collaboration in multilateral forums, notably the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI), the OECD, UNESCO, and facilitate coordination among like-minded international partners;
d. promote information-sharing and dialogue to more effectively identify and address harms arising from the application of artificial intelligence systems.

Data

14. The Participants recognise the importance of international cooperation in promoting trusted cross-border data flows, leveraging the innovation potential of data and securing the integrity of data infrastructure.

15. The Participants will deepen data collaboration on these issues as follows:

a. championing international data flows: the Participants will collaborate to promote free flow of cross-border data with trust, while ensuring the protection of personal data, opposing unjustified data localisation measures, enhancing policy cooperation and promoting discussion on government access to personal data held by private sector entities.
b. data availability and innovation: the Participants will work together on developments in data sharing and explore opportunities for future collaboration to unlock data sharing across the private sector and among researchers.
c. security and resilience of data: the Participants will collaborate on the security and resilience of data infrastructure, including data centres and the cloud.
d. trust services and electronic authentication: the Participants will explore options to deliver greater compatibility and interoperability between electronic authentication and electronic signatures in the two countries.

Developing tech ecosystems

16. The Participants will facilitate knowledge and information sharing to enhance the respective strengths of their tech ecosystems. In particular they will:

a. promote cooperation and partnerships between the two countries’ businesses to harness and drive forward innovation, especially in key technology areas such as AI;
b. organise workshops with policymakers, business representatives – including from start-ups – and other stakeholders from both countries’ technology ecosystem to develop mutual understanding on ecosystems’ strengths, exchange information on best practices, and identify areas and concrete ways to work together;
c. actively support partnerships between innovative technology companies in the two countries–including, but not limited to start-ups–by providing business-to-business matching opportunities where possible. This involves jointly defining priority areas, analysing and sharing companies’ needs, identifying potential partners, and assisting with setting up one-to-one meetings and other business-to-business matching activities.

Pillar three: Reinforcing multi-stakeholder forums and approaches

Global digital norms

17. The Participants take note of the opportunities brought by digital technologies, which include AI, and acknowledge the need for global norms that will contribute to promoting digital innovation, responding to the concerns and risks involving digital technologies, and enhancing the well-being of global citizens.

18. The Participants recognize the importance of global cooperation in the discussions and implementation of global norms for emerging digital technologies, including AI, and will closely cooperate to seek ways to promote global cooperation.

Digital technical standards

19. The Participants recognise the important role of digital technical standards in the evolution of digital technologies and the real-world impacts standards can have on residents and societies. The Participants will work together to support industry-led, inclusive, multi-stakeholder approaches to developing digital technical standards that are fit-for-purpose, representative of all stakeholders, and uphold the shared democratic values of the two countries.

20. The Participants will

a. promote and support the industry-led, multi-stakeholder, transparent, open, and consensus-based approach to digital technical standards development;
b. strengthen collaboration and information exchange between the two countries in joint areas of interest, such as quantum, improving bilateral cooperation in global standards development, and working together to respond to proposals that do not align with the shared democratic values of the two countries;
c. reinforce the two countries’ engagement, coordination and stakeholder outreach in collaboration with other like-minded governments through the Digital Technical Standards Points of Contact Group, in support of the multi-stakeholder approach.

Internet governance

21. The multi-stakeholder model is integral to ensuring a free and open global Internet. The Participants understand the importance of preserving the current multi-stakeholder arrangements through which the day-to-day operation of the internet is managed.

22. The Participants will work together to:

a. enhance the effectiveness of current internet governance multi-stakeholder bodies such as ICANN and the Internet Governance Forum;
b. promote multi-stakeholder governance processes internationally, highlighting their successes at UN organisations, including the International Telecommunication Union (ITU);
c. ensure a positive outcome to the UN World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)+20 Review process (at the UN General Assembly in 2025), including promoting sustainable development and strengthening the multi-stakeholder model of internet governance.

Fair and competitive digital markets

23. The Participants recognise the need to promote competition and support innovation in digital markets.

24. The participants will work together to:

a. increase policy coherence and alignment on how to best promote competition in digital markets;
b. promote information sharing of case studies and best practices and engage in dialogue to improve their understanding of different policy approaches;
c. encourage fair competition practices and promote innovation in digital markets.

Pillar four: Improving baseline cyber security and securing critical technologies

Cyber security

25. The Participants recognise the importance of equipping companies and organisations with effective tools and guidance to prepare for, respond to and recover from cyber-attacks and security breaches. This is key to operational resilience and business continuity, as well as a growing and flourishing economy. The Participants will work together to increase organisations’ baseline cyber security, secure critical technologies, and support a thriving cyber ecosystem, through the following:

a. working together to strengthen the security and privacy of applications (apps) and app stores in their respective countries, share lessons learned and build a global consensus on the importance of app security and privacy;
b. co-developing a programme of information sharing and collaborative work to strengthen cyber resilience;
c. sharing experiences of cyber skills initiatives and approaches to building the cyber skills pipeline and cyber security profession, including findings from the work of the UK Cyber Security Council on professional standards for cyber security;
d. sharing policy work on increasing the cyber security of digital supply chains, including policy options to improve the baseline security of digital products and services and reduce the risk of supply chain attacks;
e. working together to strengthen the security of IoT devices in their respective countries and coordinate to share insight and promote global alignment and action;
f. coordinating the two countries’ positions in multilateral forums on work related to cyber security, and sharing information ahead of key commitments.

Online safety

26. The Participants will collaborate to adopt and advocate a risk-based approach to online safety, focusing on protecting users, especially children, and tackling harmful content while upholding fundamental human rights, such as freedom of expression. Through increased dialogue and collaboration, the Participants will aim to create a safe and inclusive online environment by proactively sharing best practice and promoting regulatory consistency.

27. In particular, the Participants will:

a. strengthen collaboration and policy exchange, building on the Internet Safety Principles agreed at the G7 Digital and Tech Track;
b. promote the development of risk-based, systems and processes approaches to online safety which protect and promote human rights;
c. explore opportunities for deeper engagement and cooperation on thematic priority areas relevant to online safety including media literacy, online safety technologies, and tackling disinformation and harmful content.

General provisions

28. In principle, each Participant will bear its own expenses arising from its activities under this Partnership, unless otherwise jointly decided by the Participants.

29. Any differences that may arise from the interpretation or implementation of this Partnership will be resolved amicably through consultations between the Participants.

Final provisions

30. The Partnership is not an international agreement and does not constitute or create and is not intended to constitute or create any legally binding obligations. Nothing in the Partnership will alter or affect any existing agreements between the Participants.

31. This Partnership will come into effect on the date of signature by the Participants and remain in effect unless terminated by either Participant giving written notice of termination to the other Participant, at least six months in advance.

32. The termination of this Partnership will not affect ongoing programmes or activities under the Partnership, unless otherwise jointly decided by the Participants.

33. This Partnership may be amended with the mutual written consent of the Participants.

Signed in duplicate at the Royal Society, 6-9 Carlton House Terrace, London on the 22 November 2023, in the English language.

For the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology of the United Kingdom

Michelle Donelan
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology

For the Ministry of Science and ICT of the Republic of Korea

Lee Jong-Ho
Minister for Science and ICT