Information Brochure on the MSIT

Minister Lim Hyesook visits AAAS to encourage Scientific Collaboration

https://www.aaas.org/news/visit-lim-hye-sook-encourages-scientific-collaboration​Visit from Lim Hye Sook Encourages Scientific Collaboration20 December 2021by: Emily Hughes​​South Korean Minister of Science and ICT Minister Lim Hye Sook, and a delegation from the Ministry and the Embassy of the Republic of Korea visited the American Association for the Advancement of Science on Dec. 14 to meet with AAAS CEO Sudip Parikh and Science journals editor-in-chief Holden Thorp. Parikh and Lim discussed the important scientific relationship between both countries. They also touched on issues such as critical technologies, increasing opportunities for women in STEM and science diplomacy. ​The visit follows the U.S. – Korea Presidential Summit in May between President Biden and President Moon. During their meeting, both leaders committed to “strengthening their partnership in civil space exploration, science, and aeronautics research.” Shortly following, Minister Lim signed the Artemis Accords on behalf of the South Korean ministry, joining an international agreement that establishes guiding principles for space exploration.​Lim’s trip to Washington, D.C. included meetings with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the National Science Foundation and the Federal Communication Commission in an effort to continue fostering scientific discourse between both countries. Lim referenced the meeting between Biden and Moon in her conversation with Parikh, calling her delegation’s visit an effort to reaffirm the strength of the alliance between the two countries.​Lim and her delegation spoke on South Korea’s work in emerging technologies, an area Minister Lim has placed particular emphasis on during her time as Minister of Science and ICT, where she is responsible for administering Korea’s Digital New Deal. The initiative aims to boost investment in technologies like 5G, big data, and artificial intelligence and lay the groundwork for a digital economy. Lim added that South Korea is hoping to work with the U.S. in these areas.​They also discussed the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion in the sciences, which AAAS has placed particular emphasis on in recent years. Lim and her delegation stressed the importance of encouraging women in STEM fields. Lim shared her personal experience, which includes being the first female Minister of Science and ICT. ​Throughout their conversation, Parikh and Lim emphasized the importance of collaboration between both countries. Lim said that South Korea has seen “tangible outcomes” from working together in cutting edge technologies. She encouraged further “talent exchanges in STEM.” Parikh agreed, calling the ability to collaborate “critical to our success” and adding that “our cooperation is critical to make sure that future advances happen for the good of all.”​At the close of her visit, Lim and Parikh exchanged gifts. Lim presented Parikh with a King Diadem Ornament framed in a velvet shadowbox, a hopeful symbol of collaborations to come​Please refer to the attached PDF 

2021 ICT Ministerial Meeting (Dec. 1)

A New Normal,Rebuilding an Inclusive Society Through Digital: Promoting Broadband Connectivityand Digital Inclusion​​○ Background and introduction Currently the entire world is striving to overcome the COVID-19 crisis and we are realizing the benefits of digital technologies that can help respond to threats effectively and maintain communication among people. Digital technologies has come to function as a core system for society as a whole, more than just convenience. The other side of COVID-19 crisis as a catalyst for digital transformation suggests that it can serve as a tool for technological innovation and transformation into the New Normal era depending on how each country approaches the current crisis. ​However, at the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic shed new light on the grave challenges related to digital technologies. While digital technologies make it possible to learn and work at home in an environment with Internet access, not everyone can enjoy such a benefit. The marginalized people who are not guaranteed sufficient access to the Internet and digital technologies are suffering from social inequality and discrimination as well as discomfort in their daily lives. ​ICT Ministers Meeting was promoted from 2005 in order to share the policy experience and vision of various nations in ICT areas and devise methods of cooperation. Now it is time to come up with policies that can enable everyone to carry out economic activities and pursue a better quality of life using digital technologies. ICT Ministerial Meeting 2021 will be a valuable opportunity for participating countries to share their respective policies and vision under the theme of ‘A New Normal, Rebuilding an Inclusive Society Through Digital: Promoting Broadband Connectivity and Digital Inclusion’.  ○ Overview  - Date / Venue: 1 December(Wed), 2021, at Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnass Hotel  - Host / Organizer: Ministry of Science and ICT, National IT Industry Promotion Agency  - Theme: ‘A New Normal, Rebuilding an Inclusive Society Through Digital: Promoting Broadband Connectivity and Digital Inclusion’ ​Please refer to the attached PDF 

Three Proposals for International Standards by the National Radio Research Agency of Korea on Ensuring the Security of Vehicular Communications in the Final Stage Before Adoption in the ITU

The National Radio Research Agency under the Ministry of Science and ICT (“MSIT”; Minister Lee Jong-Ho) announced that three international standards developed by Korea, including intelligent transportation system communication devices, were adopted in advance* and three new standard development tasks, including quantum cryptography communication, were approved at the “International Telecommunication Union’s Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) Information Security Study Group 17 (SG17*)” (Chairman: Mr. Heung Youl YOUM, Professor of Soonchunhyang University) which was held in Geneva, Switzerland from August 23 to September 2. * This refers to Last Call phase, which is a phrase right before the final adoption of standards. The proposed standards are finally adopted after being circulated to member states and if there is no objection. ​ １ Three Last Call international standard proposals related to vehicular communications security ​ In recent years, there is a growing security threats to vehicular communication as more vehicles are connected to the network and relevant technologies have advanced enough to enable autonomous driving. In response, Korea made years of efforts to develop a standard for vehicular communications security based on collaboration between the industry, academia and research institutes (Korea University, ETAS Korea, ETRI, Hyundai Motor Company). Three related proposals were adopted in advance as international standards at the meeting of ITU-T SG17. ​ The adopted Last Call proposals include ① Guidelines for sharing security threat information on connected vehicles, ② Security guidelines for cloud-based data recorders in automotive environments, and ③ Security guidelines for Ethernet-based In-Vehicle networks. It is expected that such standards will have postitive implications well beyond contributing to ensure the security and safety of the vehicular network, as they can be used as objective and reliable references for auto insurance companies in analyzing the cause of vehicle accidents and settling disputes. ​ ２ Three new work items on topics including quantum cryptography communication added to the SG17 Work Programme ​ Among the new work items agreed to be added to the SG17 Work Programme, the following items were proposed by Korea: ① Security requirements for Quantum Key Distribution Network interworking (QKDNi), ② Supplement to X.1813**: Security deployment models and requirements for the operation of C-V2X services supporting ultra-reliable and low latency communication (URLLC), ③ Security guidelines for electric vehicle plug and charge (PnC) service using vehicle identity (VID). The development of the proposals for the new work items were led by MagData, Sooncheonhyang University, Hyundai AutoEver, SK Telecom, and TTA. Research to develop relevant standards are slated to begin this year. * C-V2X refers to Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything ** X.1813: Security requirements for operation of vertical services supporting ultra reliable and low latency communication (URLLC) in IMT-2020 private networks Supplement: documents that are complementary to or related to a standard, but not essential for understanding and implementation ​ A spokesperson from the National Radio Research Agency said, "The goal is to realize a digital powerhouse that ensures safety, at this tumultuous time when cyber threats are growing in all areas of society, while the pace of digital innovation accelerating at the same time. Building on Korea's strong data protection capacity, we will continue efforts to lead the development of international standards by working closely with experts from the industry, academia, and research institutes.” ​ For further information, please contact the Public Relations Division (E-mail: msitpress@korea.kr) of the Ministry of Science and ICT.

RRA’s Five International Standard Proposals for 5G, Cloud Computing, and Quantum Cryptography Communication Technology Were Adopted by ITU

The National Radio Research Agency (RRA) under the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT, Minister Lee Jong-ho) announced, "At the ITU-T Future Networks Study Group (SG13*) held in Geneva, Switzerland from July 4 to 15, five international standard proposals for 5G, cloud computing, and quantum cryptography (Head of the Korean Delegation: Dr. Kim Hyung-soo from KT) developed by Korea were consented**. Korea also secured 11 leadership positions for the SG13." * SG13: Study group on setting and revising standards related to future networks ** The stage just before the final adoption of a standard; if there is no disagreement through circulation among member countries, the standard is adopted. ​ [Five International Standard Proposals Consented] ​ ① The “Requirements and framework for jitter guarantee in large scale networks including IMT-2020 and beyond” standard prevents data delay in large scale networks, providing stable and secure services. Based on this, the standard is expected to contribute to the promotion of industries related to ultra-low latency services in 5G, Internet, and the metaverse. * Jitter: The amount of change in latency of data transmitted and received ​ ② The “Cloud computing – Functional requirements of cloud service partner for multi-cloud” standard, which is the first Korean-led development of multi-cloud technology standard, provides the concept and functional requirements of multi-cloud. ③ The “Cloud computing – Global Management Framework of Distributed Cloud” standard defines the requirements of distributed cloud, a core 5G application technology. The two standards are expected to create a broader new market for the existing cloud computing environment and serve as a guide. ** Multi-Cloud: An environment that uses cloud services from two or more cloud providers simultaneously *** Distributed Cloud: Cloud on a network close to service users, not on a central server ​ ④ The “Quantum key distribution networks (QKDN) - Functional architecture for quality of service assurance” and ⑤ “Quantum key distribution networks – Requirements for machine learning based quality of service assurance” standards are about technologies for guaranteeing the quality of quantum cryptography communication networks that are drawing attention as one of the security communication technologies for the future. It is expected that they will greatly contribute to the establishment of quantum cryptography communication networks that use these technologies and the commercialization through service quality assessment. ​ As a new study period (2022-2024) began after the World Telecommunications Standardization Assembly (WTSA) held in March, the reorganization of the leadership positions of the Future Network Study Group (three Working Parties, 13 Questions under Study) was discussed. ​ Korea secured 11 leadership positions for the SG13—9 seats re-elected and two seats additionally elected, including the working parties in the cloud and big data sectors and the JCA-ML* whose establishment was led by Korea. * JCA-ML : Group that jointly coordinates standardization activities between study groups and cooperates with other standardization organizations such as ISO/IEC to prevent duplication of machine learning standards development within ITU-T ​ The RRA said, "We will continue to work with industry, academia and research institutions to lead international standardization activities in future network fields such as quantum, space, 6G, artificial intelligence and cloud." ​ For further information, please contact the Public Relations Division (E-mail: msitpress@korea.kr) of the Ministry of Science and ICT or Deputy Director Park Mun-cheol (E-mail: pmc0125@korea.kr) of the National Radio Research Agency.

UNIST to Develop Key Technologies for Next-generation, Highly Integrated Semiconductors

The Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT, Minister: Lee Jong-Ho) announced that the research team* led by Professor Hyeon Suk Shin at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) has successfully developed the technologies that can demonstrate single-crystal multi-layered hexagonal Boron Nitride (hBN)** for the world’s first time. * (Co-corresponding authors) Hyeon Suk Shin (UNIST), Feng Ding (UNIST), Rodney Ruoff (UNIST), Manish Chhowalla (University of Cambridge, UK) (Co-first author) Kyung Yeol Ma (UNIST), Leining Zhang (UNIST) ** hBN : hexagonal Boron Nitride ​ On June 2, the results from this research, which was conducted thanks to the support from the Future Technology Research Lab, Leadership Research, and Basic Research Lab Project of the Ministry of Science and ICT, were published in Nature, an international academic journal. ​ hBN is known as the only two-dimensional (2D) insulating material, that can prevent degradation of functions such as charge trap and charge scattering, which may occur from next-generation, highly integrated semiconductors. ​ Next-generation, highly integrated semiconductors deploy technologies, which can solve issues including leakage current and heat generation, by converting silicon into molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), which is 2D semiconductor, and increase the level of integration in chips. ​ However, this highly integrated semiconductor requires an insulator that physically separates wafer from MoS2, because a charge trap occurs when MoS2 is in direct contact with the wafer. ​ In addition, as to prevent charge scattering, the insulating material should be the same 2D material as MoS2. Since 2D materials are connected to each other in 2D flat surface, charge scattering, which may be a problem in three-dimensional structure like silicon, does not occur here. ​ Until now, the development of a technology that can synthesize 2D insulating material in a single cystal form that has appropriate thickness, enough to be used in semiconductor devices, has been a challenge. The research team was able to synthesize hBN single crystal that can be adjusted in thickness, through a new synthesis method, capable of adjusting the level of concentration of materials required for synthesis. ​ Although cases of synthesizing hBN large enough for commercial launch have been published in Nature and Science so far, this is the first time in the world that a single crystal has been synthesized in the form of multi-layered thin film. ​ Professor Hyeon Suk Shin talked about the significance of this research by saying that, "Thanks to this study, we could develop technologies for synthesizing materials, that can solve physical limits of traditional highly integrated semiconductors, which are represented by the Moore's Law." ​ Professor Shin went on to say that "As it is frequently reported that hBN can be used in not only semiconductors but also hydrogen fuel cell electrolyte membranes, next-generation secondary battery electrode materials, and quantum light sources, additional research should be carried out actively to secure fundamental technologies for material production." ​ For further information, please contact the Public Relations Division (E-mail: msitpress@korea.kr), Deputy Director Hong Seok-beom (E-mail: doinbul@korea.kr) or Deputy Director Moon Yeong-geun (E-mail: ykmoon@korea.kr) of the Ministry of Science and ICT.