Korea Draft SDG Report Flags Low Digital Safety Skills
The draft for the 2027 UN HLPF shows Korea at the top of the OECD for ICT use, but only 25.1% meet basic safety competence.
The Sustainable Development Support Team under the Office for Government Policy Coordination released a draft of Korea's Sustainable Development National Report on the 30th of last month, ahead of its submission to the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) in 2027. The draft was reported by zdnet.co.kr.
According to the draft, Korea ranks among the top OECD countries for ICT use capabilities such as information and data literacy and digital content creation. But in the ICT safety domain, only 25.1% of people had at least basic competence.
The gap is not new. As of 2023, Korea ranked first among 21 OECD countries for basic-or-above information and data literacy at 90.1%, and also first for digital content creation at 79.4%. Problem-solving stood at 82.2% (second) and communication and collaboration at 82.0% (fourth).
Some practical skills have improved sharply. The share of people able to send an email with an attachment rose from 57.4% in 2017 to 97.3% in 2024.
Safety-related tasks remain far less common. Only 36.8% said they could change privacy settings and 48.3% could configure security measures, while just 30.9% could verify the reliability of online information.
Quick answers
What is the report and when will it be submitted?
It is Korea's Sustainable Development National Report, drafted by the Sustainable Development Support Team under the Office for Government Policy Coordination for submission to the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in 2027.
Which ICT safety skills did the draft highlight?
It said only 25.1% had at least basic competence in the ICT safety domain. Individual tasks were lower: 36.8% could change privacy settings, 48.3% could configure security measures and 30.9% could verify the reliability of online information.
How does Korea rank in other digital skills?
As of 2023, Korea ranked first among 21 OECD countries for information and data literacy (90.1%) and digital content creation (79.4%), second for problem-solving (82.2%) and fourth for communication and collaboration (82.0%).