The Government of the Republic of Korea announced on May 2 at the State Council that it will actively pursue the establishment of a "New Digital Order" in alignment with President Yoon Suk-yeol's New York Initiative (September 2022), his special address at Davos (January 2023), and his recent speech at Harvard University during his visit to the United States (April 2023). The plan for the new digital order aims to create a basic direction for a digital bill of rights and to stimulate social discussion, as well as to actively lead global discussions on digital norms. 

As the era of digital sophistication advances, new and diverse issues have arisen that have never existed before. For example, the emergence of generative artificial intelligence (AI), such as ChatGPT, has sparked debates on copyright and intellectual property rights for the creative works produced by AI, while autonomous vehicles raise questions about who is responsible for accidents and compensation. Such digital sophistication issues are complex and diverse in their interrelationships. To embrace the changes of the digital age and fully enjoy the benefits of digitalization, it is crucial to increase social acceptability, and a new normative system (order) is needed for this purpose.

Korea has been at the forefront of the digital age ahead of any other country in the world by systematically responding to the Information Revolution (early 1990s) transforming societies around the world. With another structural transformation in the digital sophistication, comparable to the Industrial Revolution (late 18th century) and the Information Revolution, the Korean government plans to establish a "New Digital Order" to resolve various digital issues and promote continuous digital innovation.

Therefore, discussions on new norms and orders are essential to accommodate digital innovation. Norms not only serve as behavioral standards for members of society but also provide guidelines for achieving the ideals that humanity and society pursue. To welcome the digital technologies, industries, and societies that humanity has never experienced before without confusion, establishing a new digital order is necessary.

In response to the structural shift of "deepening digitalization," aiming to establish a “New Digital Order,” the Korean government announced the “Charter on the Values and Principles for a Digital Shared Prosperity Society” on September 25th, also referred to as the "The Digital Bill of Rights."

Please refer to the attached PDF.