South Korea: Third Democracy Summit opens in Seoul with some criticism
This Monday, March 18, in Seoul, the third democracy summit began.
This American initiative, from the Joe Biden administration, is being held for the first time outside the United States, with ally South Korea which has moved significantly closer to Washington.
This third edition of the summit brings together NGOs, government officials and members of civil society to fight against democratic erosion.
For the occasion, the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken came to South Korea to attend the opening of the debates on the threats of new technologies to democracy.
But the event also caused ink to flow in Seoul.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (second from right in front row) came to Seoul, South Korea, for the opening of the third Democracy Summit, March 18, 2024. AP - Evelyn Hockstein
By: RFI Follow
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With our correspondent in Seoul
,
Nicolas Rocca
The threats that new technologies pose to democracies: this is the central subject of the democracy summit which opened on Monday March 18 in South Korea.
With legislative elections on April 10 over which potential North Korean cyberattacks loom, the theme is current on the peninsula.
Disinformation and the use of artificial intelligence
were notably on the menu of this first day, in particular their use by authoritarian regimes and their methods in the digital field.
During his speech at the opening ceremony, President Yoon Suk-yeol set the tone: “
Fake news and disinformation that uses Artificial Intelligence and digital technologies not only violate individual freedoms and human rights. 'Man, but
also threaten democratic systems
.
»
The headliner was US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
His lightning visit, before going to the Philippines, is a form of handing over to South Korean President
Yoon Suk-yeol
, who is regaining leadership of this third summit, after two editions under the patronage of Washington.
Like the South Korean head of state, Antony Blinken made fairly clear allusions to certain states, such as China or Russia, without any being mentioned directly:
“
As we try to harness the power of new and other digital technologies for good, governments are using these technologies to do the exact opposite: they are using AI tools, like facial recognition and bots, to monitor their citizens, harass journalists, human rights defenders, political dissidents.
They spread disinformation that undermines free and fair elections, or pits one segment of our society against another
.
»
The Vice-President of the European Commission Vera Jourova cited the Kremlin's disinformation campaigns as one of the threats weighing on the numerous elections planned for this year.
Criticism in South Korea of a state of “
democratic regression
”
But the event is partly contested in South Korea, where the head of state is the target of criticism for his attacks on freedom of expression, the media and gender equality.
The country is even in a state of “
democratic regression
”, according to the recent report on democracy from the V-DEM institute at Gothenburg University.
But the summit's overall initiative is not without criticism.
The guest list is notably under the spotlight, excluding countries that consider themselves democratic, such as Thailand and Turkey.
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