UniLodz Researcher on International Security in Seoul at the World Emerging Security Forum

The opening ceremony was inaugurated by Cho Hyun, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, who stressed the urgent need for global cooperation to counter hybrid threats and safeguard international peace. His remarks set a strong diplomatic tone, framing hybrid security challenges as a shared global responsibility.

This was followed by Karim Haggag, Director of SIPRI, who emphasized the growing intersection between emerging technologies and security risks. He underscored the importance of evidence-based policy and independent research in shaping strategies for global peace and resilience. Christoph Heusgen, Co-Chairman of the St. Gallen Symposium, contributed a powerful reflection on the erosion of trust in the international system. He argued that rebuilding confidence between states and societies is essential for effectively addressing disinformation, hybrid warfare, and the pressures undermining democratic resilience.

The day’s sessions addressed three themes: Cognitive Warfare (disinformation and societal resilience), Emerging Technologies and the Threat Landscape (persistent security risks), and Resilience of Critical Infrastructure (reducing multidimensional vulnerabilities). In this session, Dr. Joanna Kulesza, Assistant Professor at the University of Lodz and representative of the Lodz Cyber Hub, offered an incisive intervention. She highlighted the role of international law and multistakeholder governance in strengthening infrastructure resilience and showcased the Lodz Cyber Hub as a growing center of excellence advancing global cybersecurity research and cooperation.