KT CEO joins U.N. commission for wireless network

KT Corp., Korea’s largest telecommunications firm, said Thursday its chief executive Hwang Chang-gyu has been named as a member of a United Nations organization for promoting the worldwide deployment of high-speed wireless technology.

His appointment to the Broadband Commission for Digital Development came after he became a board member of the GSMA, a global organization that represents global mobile operators, last week.

“It is my honor to work for the ITU-UNESCO Broadband Commission, which aims for the development of digital infrastructure and devices,” the KT CEO said in a press release. 

The Broadband Commission for Digital Development was established jointly by the International Telecommunications Union, a U.N. agency for global telecommunications policies, and UNESCO at the request of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in 2010.

The U.N. commission’s 57 members include world government leaders, chiefs of international organizations, industry experts, and CEOs of global information and communication technology firms including Cisco and Telefonica.

Participating in a pre-event for the 2014 ITU Plenipotentiary Conference, a quadrennial meeting for ICT, in New York in September, Hwang introduced KT’s GiGAtopia ― an initiative to provide gigabyte-class networks that connect a wide spectrum of industries, including energy, transport and health care ― to the U.N. commission members.

“I hope Hwang, a CEO who has made great strides in innovation, will be able to contribute to the commission’s growth with his expertise in the global ICT industry,” said Hamadoun Toure, ITU secretary-general, in his congratulatory remarks.

Hwang will take part in the commission’s regular meeting in Paris in February, and also in the GSMA board meeting in Barcelona in March when the Mobile World Congress ― the world’s largest mobile trade show ― is held in the Spanish city.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorop.com)