The Ministry of Science and ICT, the National Intelligence Service and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety held the "15th Information Security Day ceremony" on Tuesday at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul.

Marking its 15th year, the ceremony was held under the theme, "In a safe AI era, South Korea leads the way." With cyber threats shifting rapidly amid the spread of high-performance AI, the event focused on presenting an information security vision to support the realisation of a safe, AI-based basic society.

In a congratulatory address read on his behalf, President Lee Jae-myung (이재명) said, "As AI spreads rapidly across our society, the importance of information security is greater than ever." He added, "We will expand an inter-agency cooperation system to respond quickly to new threats and actively foster AI-based security technologies and the industry ecosystem."

The ceremony featured awards for a total of 35 people recognised for contributions to information security, hope messages for a safe AI era delivered by a public delegation, and an exhibition of outstanding AI-based information security products.

At the awards ceremony, Lee Dong-beom (이동범), CEO of Genians, received the Order of Civil Merit, Pomegranate Medal for contributing to stronger security at major national facilities and industrial development through domestic security technologies. Kim Yong-dae (김용대), a professor at KAIST, received the Order of Merit for contributions to mobile communications and cyber-physical security research and improvements to standards, industry and policy at home and abroad. Ha Jae-cheol (하재철), a professor at Hoseo University, received the Order of Service Merit for contributing to securing key foundational technologies through R&D on cryptographic hardware.

Presidential citations were presented to Lee Cheol-ho (이철호), CEO of NPlus Lab, Lim Chae-sik (임채식), an official at Sejong Special Self-Governing City, and Hwang Jeong-hyeon (황정현), CEO of Inix. Prime Minister's citations were also presented to other recipients recognised for contributions to information security.

In the public delegation's hope-message session, 4 representatives from industry, academia, the security industry and civil society took the stage and each pledged to embed AI-based security, foster innovative talent, shift security systems and practise security.

This year's event also marked the first time the country's 3 major telecom operators, including SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus, participated together. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the UK AI Safety Institute and Google discussed the future of AI-based information security in keynote speeches.

The government will run July as "Information Security Month." Events during the period include a symposium on AI security red teams and a system for reporting, handling and disclosing security vulnerabilities, the annual meeting of the Cybersecurity Alliance for Mutual Progress (CAMP), 2026 Hacktheon Sejong, a workshop on protecting key information and communications infrastructure, an Information Security Rookie Meet-up Day and the Codegate hacking defence competition.

The Ministry of Science and ICT will also run public participation programmes, including an influencer-led social media short-form campaign, on-site events linked to professional baseball games and an Information Security Month stamp tour.