JEJU ― A three-day international conference on peace, security, environment and other pending global issues kicked off on the southern resort island Thursday.

Under the theme “New Trends and the Future of Asia,” the 7th Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity has brought together some 2,000 eminent scholars, experts and government officials including about 250 from overseas at Haevichi Hotel & Resort.

“The forum will focus on presenting a new vision, a new way of mutual cooperation, and a breakthrough to enhance the promotion of the regional cooperation and community building in Asia in the future,” Jeju Governor Woo Keun-min said.

The forum is hosted by Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, the International Peace Foundation, the East Asia Foundation and JoongAng Ilbo. It had been held biennially until last year since its inception in 2001.

Among key local participants are Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik, Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan, Knowledge Economy Minister Hong Suk-woo and Culture and Sports Minister Choe Kwang-shik.

Those from overseas include Lamberto Zannier, secretary-general of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe; Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Inc.; former Australian Prime Minister Paul John Keating; and former Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

On the first day of the forum, Steve Wozniak delivered a lecture titled “The End of the PC era and the future of IT industry,” and held a debate with participating college and high-school students.

The forum consists of some 60 sessions hosted by 23 organizations including Seoul’s Foreign Ministry, the Jeju government, Seoul School of Integrated Sciences and Technologies and Korea Human Development Institute.

Topics to be discussed range from nuclear nonproliferation, maritime security and environment to free trade and cultural interchanges among Asian states, organizers said.

The forum will also hold a set of special sessions to mark the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations between South Korea and China, where Chinese and Korean business leaders discuss ways to boost trade and investment between the two countries.

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)