A forum titled "Who Shapes the Future of AI?" was held in Seoul, bringing together academics, cybersecurity experts and diplomats to discuss how governments can balance AI innovation with safety, accountability and international cooperation. It was hosted by People Power Party Rep. Kim Gunn's office with parliamentary groups on AI and global diplomacy.
Catherine Régis, a law professor at the Université de Montréal and holder of a Canada CIFAR AI Chair, delivered the keynote presentation on the prospects for Korea-Canada cooperation and the future of global AI governance.
The discussions came hours after President Lee warned at a Cabinet meeting that advances in AI were making hacking techniques increasingly sophisticated, exposing the limitations of cybersecurity systems focused primarily on inspections and responding after attacks occur.
Lee called for a comprehensive preventive approach and instructed officials to consider establishing a powerful government-wide body capable of coordinating cybersecurity functions across the public and private sectors.
His remarks followed the theft of approximately $6.3 billion in digital assets from Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, on Oct. 29. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation attributed the attack to TraderTraitor, a North Korean hacking operation, although Pyongyang denied involvement.
Speaking during the parliamentary forum, Lee Sang-kyun, a professor at Korea University's Graduate School of Information Security and director of its AI Security Research Institute, pointed to the Binance incident as an example of the extraordinary speed at which cyberattacks can unfold.
"It took 20 minutes from the beginning of the attack to the point when the hackers had drained the funds. Twenty minutes is not a short time," Lee said.
"In my work with companies, I hear about attacks taking three minutes. I even hear about attacks measured in seconds," he added.
Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs reported that the majority of the stolen Binance assets were transferred in approximately 20 minutes, highlighting the challenges facing security teams attempting to identify and interrupt rapidly unfolding attacks.
Lee also warned that advances in physical AI, which integrates artificial intelligence into machines and devices operating in the physical world, were expanding the boundaries of cybersecurity beyond conventional digital systems.
"As physical AI develops, the scope of cybersecurity is expanding into the physical world," he said.
He singled out smart glasses as an emerging privacy concern, warning that their growing capabilities could create new risks for the collection and handling of personal information.
"We are underestimating smart glasses. We are underestimating just how dangerous these devices can be from the standpoint of personal privacy," Lee said.
The cybersecurity concerns formed part of a broader discussion about the international rules and institutions needed to govern AI technologies.
In her keynote speech, Régis outlined recent progress in bilateral and multilateral cooperation, including a June agreement among the national standards bodies of South Korea, Canada, Singapore, Britain and Australia.
The five countries agreed to cooperate on AI pre-standardization, an effort to define technical concepts, testing methods, requirements and conformity assessment procedures before formal international standards are established.
The agreement is intended to support joint work in areas such as manufacturing and healthcare, with draft standards potentially feeding into discussions at the International Organization for Standardization and International Electrotechnical Commission's joint AI standards committee, ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 42.
Régis also highlighted a memorandum of understanding signed in July by the Canadian and Korean AI Safety Institutes to strengthen cooperation on evaluating advanced AI systems.
Under the agreement, the institutes will exchange information on AI technologies, emerging risks, assessment methodologies and evaluation tools, while supporting internationally recognized and interoperable safety guidelines.
She identified four areas of cooperation: sharing information on AI risks and evaluation methods, exchanging safety frameworks and guidelines, supporting internationally recognized standards, and advancing approaches to assessing risks from frontier AI systems.
The two countries have continued expanding their broader technological partnership.
On Oct. 29 and 30, Korean and Canadian officials met in Seoul for the fifth Joint Committee on Science, Technology and Innovation, discussing cooperation in AI, quantum technology, biotechnology and research security.
During the meeting, the National Research Foundation of Korea and the National Research Council of Canada signed an agreement to promote joint research and exchanges of personnel and resources.
Beyond bilateral initiatives, Régis's proposed creating joint Korea-Canada research groups and projects, contributing scientific evidence to international AI governance assessments, and preparing input for the 2027 Global Dialogue in New York.
The proposal also emphasized linking scientific research more closely with policymaking, including cooperation involving the Canadian AI research ecosystem, the Montreal-based Mila institute and IVADO.
The debate comes as governments around the world seek to strengthen their influence over emerging AI standards.
Lee, the Korea University professor, cited China's growing ambitions in international AI governance, referring to a keynote address delivered by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the World AI Conference in Shanghai on July 17.
During the conference, Xi called for stronger international coordination on AI development and safety and announced the establishment of the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization, a China-backed initiative intended to promote cooperation on AI governance.
Canada has also moved to strengthen oversight of digital technologies. In June, its government introduced Bill C-34, the Safe Social Media Act, which would establish safety and accountability obligations for regulated social media and AI chatbot services and create a Digital Safety Commission of Canada. The legislation has not yet been adopted.
Participants included academics from Hanyang University and Korea University, a senior official from South Korea's Foreign Ministry and a representative of the Canadian Embassy in Seoul.
The discussions underscored an increasingly complex policy challenge for governments seeking to promote AI innovation while responding to rapidly evolving cybersecurity risks, privacy concerns and competing international approaches to regulating the technology.
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