PYEONGTAEK, South Korea, Sept. 23, 2021 — Following announcement covered by The Korea Herald, Pyeongtaek City will host the 2021 Pyeongtaek Global Peace and Security Forum from September 27 to 28 in Seoul, South Korea.
Under the slogan of "Opening A New Chapter of Peace And Security," the forum will take place in a hybrid format according to the COVID-19 quarantine guidelines – a minimum number of on-site participants invited or pre-registered are expected to attend the forum, and those who do not can view the discussions live-streamed on Arirang TV’s YouTube channel.
Pyeongtaek City minimizes the number of on-site guests as well. Only a few figures are expected to appear at the forum to deliver their congratulatory messages. They include Pyeongtaek Mayor Jeong Jang-sun, Minister of Foreign Affairs Chung Eui-yong, Chairman of Pyeongtaek City Council Hong Sun-eui, and National Assembly members Yu Eui-dong and Hong Kee-won.
Song Min-soon, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, will also attend the forum to make his keynote speech about the "Peace Process in Northeast Asia and the Korea-U.S. Alliance." Vincent Keith Brooks, former U.S. military commander, will give a special address online in real-time.
Pyeongtaek City said that this peace and security forum, the first of its kind, will create an opportunity to discuss measures to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula. With this goal, Jung Seung-jo, President of Korea-US Alliance Foundation (KUSAF), and Jeon In-beom, former South Korean Army Lieutenant General, will preside the two main sessions: "The Changing Role of the United States Forces Korea (USFK) According to the Korea-U.S. Alliance and Northeast Asian Security Environment" and "The Role of Pyeongtaek City for the Evolved Korea-U.S. Alliance in Pyeongtaek," respectively.
Since all sessions will be live-streamed on YouTube, those who want to participate in the forum from home and abroad can join the Q&A session and interactively communicate with the speakers in real-time through the video conferencing system.
Mayor Jeong Jang-sun said, "As the central city of the Korea-U.S. alliance, Pyeongtaek is making every effort to discover and lead the role of local governments in the diplomatic and security sectors by holding the Global Peace and Security Forum." He added, "The city will make thorough preparations for the forum to make it safe amid the unprecedented situation of the COVID-19 pandemic."