On May 18, The 24th Inchon Memorial Lecture took place in the Inchon Memorial Hall, Korea University (KU) at 4.P.M. with a very special guest. The current Secretary of United States (U.S.) Department of State, John Kerry, was invited to the event to give a lecture about his and his country’s stance on the issue of cybersecurity. 

 

 

Before the delivery of John Kerry’s speech, KU President Yeom Jae Ho gave a speech welcoming the guest to the university. After giving a brief introduction to Kerry’s lecture, Yeom praised Kerry about how “both timely and relevant” the theme of his speech was. He continued by confirming that “Prioritizing for cybersecurity, energy, food, and safety within the context of fragile states” is vital.

After Yeom ended his speech, Kerry resumed the session and started out his lecture by mentioning the close relationship between the U.S. and Republic of Korea (ROK). “U.S. and South Korea share a history and great hopes for the future,” affirmed Kerry. To lighten up the mood in the lecture hall, he revealed his “love for Psy, K-Pop, Bibimbap, and Pororo.”

Throughout the lecture, he emphasized how firm the U.S is in protecting and preserving basic human freedom and how it does so through the Internet. He warned the audience about the potential dangers of the Internet and further stressed that the U.S. will stay vigilant to watch for any breach of freedom committed by a government.