President Yoon Suk Yeol has vowed to strengthen Korea's cyber response capabilities based on close cooperation between the public and private sectors, saying that cybersecurity comprises one of the key elements of national security.
 
During a ceremony marking the eleventh Information Security Day at a center for startups in Seongnam, south of Seoul, Yoon stressed the need to advance cyberwarfare capabilities and technologies to better respond to evolving cyber threats.
 
For that purpose, he pledged to establish cyberwarfare reserve forces aimed at mustering the resources of the private and public sectors in the event of a national emergency.
 
As part of efforts to resolve a shortage in the cyber workforce, the president promised to expand the relevant courses at universities and graduate schools.
 
In addition, the country will nurture 100-thousand cybersecurity specialists and foster related technologies as a strategic industry, he added.

Yoon also expressed the government’s commitment to international cooperation in cybersecurity by pledging to promptly join the Budapest Convention, an international treaty dedicated to addressing cybercrime.