KBS President and CEO Gil Hwan-young has been elected as President of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU). The 50th ABU General Assembly (ABU GA 50) successfully concluded in Hanoi on the evening of October 29 after more than a week of panel discussions, aimed at diversifying media platforms and seeking practical measures to increase content quality and attract fragmented audiences in the digital era. Participants in the closing session elected Gil Hwan-young, the Republic of Korea’s KBS President and CEO, as ABU President, and Ibrahim Sahin, TRT President of Turkey, as ABU Vice President. The newly-elected ABU President pledged to strengthen collaboration among ABU member countries through programming and technical assistance projects in the digital era to increase the quality of broadcasts in the near future. Delegates to the ABU GA 50 agreed to organize the 51st General Assembly in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2014 along with the world summit on media for children that is due to take place for the first time in Asia. Since its establishment nearly five decades ago, the ABU has played an important role in developing the broadcasting industry in the region and the world, as well as strengthening links between regional broadcasters. In his opening speech at ABU GA 50, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung highlighted the significance of the event, saying it offered an excellent venue for policy makers and executives of ABU member countries and partners to discuss and work out strategies and concrete plans of action to develop and target the broadcasting industry towards a wider audience. Tran Binh Minh, Director General of Vietnam Television (VTV), which hosted the event, said the main focus of discussions was on serving audience in the digital era. VOV