President Yoon Suk Yeol touted South Korea as an international hub for cybersecurity drill exercises, while attending the inaugural Cyber Summit Korea 2024 in Seoul on Wednesday.

Yoon said in his congratulatory speech at the event held at Coex in Gangnam, southern Seoul, that South Korea's long exposure to constant cyberspace attacks by "hostile actors" including North Korea has allowed the country to hone its defense capabilities and cybersecurity system.

"Totalitarian states are orchestrating increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks that are taking new shapes, by taking advantage of hacking groups and cyberspace criminals adept at highly advanced cyber technologies," he told some 400 participants at the event hosted by South Korea's spy agency, the National Intelligence Service.

Describing cyberspace as a "core infrastructure" in South Korea's bid to nurture artificial intelligence, quantum computing and space technology, Yoon said hostile forces' attacks in cyberspace "could deal a serious blow to key infrastructures and threaten the safety and security of citizens."

Yoon said the international cyber drill called Allied Power Exercise, held on the sidelines of the event, which Yoon inspected later on Wednesday, could provide an outlet for the international community's cooperation to address cyberthreats that transcend borders. Yoon also stressed South Korea's paradigm shift in its cyber strategy in February to fight North Korean threats through "offensive" capabilities in response to the international community's call for cooperation in cyber security.

"A cyberthreat knows no boundary given the hyperconnectivity of cyberspace," Yoon said. "Today's event will set the path for South Korea to establish itself as a hub for international cyber drills representing the Indo-Pacific region."

Wednesday's international cyber exercise follows a commitment by Yoon and North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in July 2023 to have South Korea host the event. Representatives of the militaries of 24 countries in the Indo-Pacific region took part in the event, according to Yoon's office.

Yoon also said the government was striving to "meet global standards" in terms of security and encryption policies to ensure the public's extensive access to public data.

The three-day event that kicked off Tuesday also featured conference sessions, roundtable discussions and exhibitions. The event also hosted the annual Cyber Conflict Exercise which marked its eighth year.

Also during Wednesday's event, 20 government institutions and 102 corporations in the field of telecommunications, military equipment, medical services, finance and utilities joined forces to launch a private-sector cooperative body called Cyber Partners to share critical information about what the government referred to as cyberthreats.

"If the government and private sector join forces and closely cooperate with allies, we will be able to predict the ever-evolving cyberthreats and make timely responses," Cho Tae-yong, head of the NIS, said in his speech.

Cho earlier expressed his bid to boost Cyber Summit Korea's presence, equivalent to CyberUK of the UK, Cyber Week of Israel and Singapore International Cyber Week, in a press release in August.