This Monday, March 18, in Seoul, the third democracy summit kicked off. This initiative by the 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 brought together NGOs, government officials and members of civil society. But the event also caused ink to flow in Seoul.
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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 opens this 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 will notably be on the menu for this first day, headlined by the American Secretary of State, Antony Blinken. His lightning visit, before going to the Philippines, is a form of handing over to the South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeolwhich regains leadership of this third summit, after two editions under the patronage of Washington.
A decision 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.