Administrator Jeh Dae-shik of the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards speaks at the 39th ISO General Assembly, which took place in Seoul from Sept. 14 to 18.

Some 700 people from 162 countries assembled for the 38th ISO General Assembly, dubbed ISO Week in Korea, at Lotte Hotel in Seoul from Sept. 14 to 18 and discussed international standardization policies as well as standardization strategies between 2016 and 2020. 

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is one of the world's top three standardization organizations along with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Korea joined the ISO in 1963 and this is the first time the country has hosted the organization's General Assembly.

The ISO’s supreme decision-making General Assembly was convened between Sept. 16 and Sept. 17 along with the ISO’s Council Meeting and the Meeting of the Committee on Developing Country Matters.

Participants toured Samsung Electronics, AmorePacific, LSIS and Korea Ginseng Corp. to look at Korea’s technology and international standardization practices. 

Koreas sits on the 20-member ISO Council. The nation is ranked ninth in ISO’s evaluation, as Korea proposed 78 international standards last year. Standardization in all industries has been actively sought, which led to the quality assurance of the industrial products and the expansion of exports in country. 

Prior to this conference, Administrator Jeh Dae-shik of the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards said the successful hosting of the ISO Week in Korea would solidify the nation’s international standing in the global standardization community and serve as an opportunity to help people and companies recognize the significance of standards. 

Chairman of the Korean Standards Association Baek Soo-hyun said, “The roadmap for national standardization, being implemented every five years since 2001, has contributed to upgrading Korea’s standardization regime to the levels of advanced countries.” The number of Koreans being elected as chairmen, committee heads and conveners sitting on the global top three standardization organizations, including ISO, jumped a 2.5 fold from 63 in 2007 to 161 this year, he said. But Korea has a long way to go before the nation will be a standardization power akin to its standing as a global top 10 economy in the world, KSA Chairman Baek said.

Korea’s hosting the ISO General Assembly was hoped to serve as an opportunity for the nation to rise to a global standardization power by strengthening the Korean government and companies’ global competiveness, and helping the general public enhance awareness of the importance of standards, he added.

LSIS Chairman Koo Ja-kyun emphasized the significance of international standards in the era of the Internet of Things (IoT), while delivering a keynote speech at the opening session of the 38th ISO General Assembly (ISO Week in Korea) at Lotte Hotel in Seoul on Sept. 16. 

Opening his speech, Chairman Koo said, “The unchanging truth is that all things are subject to change. The significance of standards has emerged to the extent that a war of standards can be described in less than 20 years since the introduction of digital concept.” 

He stressed the significance of international standardization due to the pursuing of diverse convergence of different industries beyond compatibility and interoperation among gadgets in an era of IoT. 

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick shares a toast of wine with Chairman of the Korean Standards Association Baek Soo-hyun and ISO Acting Secretary General Kevin McKinley at an official dinner of the ISO event. (Photos:KSA)