Korea now ranks 10th in the world in terms of international standardization activities as of 2012. The nation has set its sights on joining the ranks of the global top seven in terms of international standardization activities by 2015, says Seo Kwang-hyun, administrator of the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS).

Seo said, “The government is seeking to build infrastructure for rising to a global standardization powerhouse by concentrating manpower and budget on the development of creative and challenging standards that will have far-reaching effects.” He continued, “We devote ourselves to securing the nation’s vantage point in the global market and improving Korean products’ competitive edge by accelerating the development of Korea’s homegrown technologies into international standards.” 

During 2012, the national standards coordinator system applies to seven areas °™ smart grid, smart logistics, smart medical information, smart media, 3D industry, cloud computing, and printed electronics, Seo said. 

“Diverse convergence technologies developed through national R&D activities will be standardized, and efforts will be made to ensure that standards can made in consideration of market demands in order to take the lead in international standardization and contribute to strengthening Korean technologies’ competitive edge,” he said. 

The following are excerpts of an interview between NewsWorld and the KATS administrator in which he spoke of government standardization policies, including ones on the promotion of the private sector’s standards activities and public awareness toward standardization.

Answer: Advanced countries are striving to prevent the duplication of standards and technology levels by utilizing standards in setting technology levels and laws and easing the corporate burden stemming from regulations. On the other hand, Korea’s standardization is two-pronged °™ Korean Standards   and technology standards and certifications °™ factors some point to as causing the corporate burden and the weakening of competitiveness. 

We’ve found via consultative meetings with SMEs and through hearings regarding 168 single certification regulations that are duplicated or irrational and have corrected them. Initially, mutual recognition is granted to 134 products subject to multiple certifications belonging to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE), reducing product testing costs and periods. KS certification has seen certification time and costs cut in half thanks to such measures as the curtailing of its examination period, the abolishing of an education program for managers, and commissioning the management of testing facilities to the outside.

In an effort to fundamentally address the duplicating of standards and certifications, the state should reduce quasi regulations mandatory for firms by making KS and each ministry’s technology certifications conform with international standards. KATS plans to petition its exclusive right over the development and operation of KS to the environment and health ministries not only to keep Korean Standards in conformity with each ministry’s certifications, but also to enhance conformity with international standards. The Prime Minister’s Office plans to revise the guidelines for working out a regulation impact evaluation document so that each ministry can check if each newly introduced technology standard or certification is duplicated in the existing ones or with KS.

KATS plans to overhaul the national standardization and certification regimes as their control tower so that a unified national standard system can be built and the corporate burden can be eased. 

A: National convergence tasks essential for the development of standards now lack their linkage of standards. There are examples of the government pouring money into standardization after technologies and products come out, but there is a failure in standardization which leads to the technologies’ demise. 

The national standards coordinator system is designed to utilize civilian standards experts in conforming the outcomes of national R&D activities to international standards, promoting Korean companies’ collaboration in international standardization, and providing standards consulting. National standards coordinators are responsible for the establishment and implementation of national and international standardization strategies and roadmaps in each technology category; exploring core technology standardization tasks/planning and conducting the linkage of standardization projects; planning and evaluating the standardization related to the exploration and designation of R&D tasks; assisting in the promotion of cooperation in standardization among national R&D participants as councilors and advisers; and providing support to Korean companies’ conformity with international standards. 

During 2012, the national coordinator system applies to seven areas -- smart grid, smart logistics, smart medical information, smart media, 3D industry, cloud computing, and printing electronics. Diverse convergence technologies developed through national R&D activities will be standardized, and efforts will be made to ensure that standards can made in consideration of market demands in order to take the lead in international standardization and contribute to strengthening Korean technologies’ competitive edge.

A: Of late, Korea has made a strong showing in the standardization in the IT convergence categories. For instance, Korea’s commercialization of an IT-based ship communication technology has been selected as an international standard by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). The commercialization has led to the exporting of 110 ships fitted with the technology. New Zealand is seeking to adopt as its national standard the nationwide compatible transportation card Korean Standard   . The globalization of the Korean Standard will likely contribute to facilitating related companies’ entry into foreign markets.   

KATS has established an IT standardization framework with the goal of becoming a global standardization leader by spearheading the converging of IT and other industries. The regime, a blueprint for standardization, is a means of enabling the standardization of IT convergence services. We plan to flesh out the development of frameworks for standardizing the top 10 categories, including smart transportation information, smart media, medical information, green ICT, and mobile cards. 

A: Korea emerged as a backward standardization country on the international stage in the 1990s. The nation embarked on full-fledged standardization activities in the 2000s. Korea now ranks 10th in the world in terms of international standardization activities as of 2012. KATS aims at having Korea join the ranks of the global top seven in terms of international standardization activities.  

In particular, we plan to step up policy support for building the private sector-initiated international standardization ecosystem. In Korea, the private sector lags behind in terms of international standardization activities, accounting for a meager 10 out of the 101 Korean technologies selected as international standards. It is significant to build an environment in which Korean companies can standardize their own technologies so as to see their products secure a competitive edge in the global markets. In this regard, KATS plans to introduce or expand support for developing companies’ own technologies into international standards, pursuing standards commercialization, utilization, and proliferation and the building of infrastructure for promoting SMEs’ international standards.

We strive to do our utmost to explore and nurture experts on international standards. Korea is an active global leader in the area of international standardization with 122 Koreans serving as executives of international standardization bodies -- 16 chairpersons of ISO and IEC technical committees, 22 head officers, 77 conveners, and seven group leaders. We plan to support Korean standards experts’ being inducted as technical committee chairpersons, head officers, conveners, and group leaders. KATS plans to work out steps to ramp up international standardization experts from SMEs’ activities so that Korean SMEs’ own technologies can be adopted as international standards.

A: In 2012, the Korean government set aside 16 trillion won for its budget for R&D activities, accounting for 1.05 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and ranking at the top compared to the figures of other OECD member countries, such as 1.03 percent for the United States, 0.91 percent for Germany and 0.78 percent for Japan. On the other hand, the budget for standardizing original technologies, a driving force behind future growth, stands at 30.5 billion won, or 0.2 percent of its R&D spending. The figures are insufficient compared to those of advanced countries, including 1.038 trillion won (0.7 percent) for the United States and 258 billion won (0.5 percent) for Japan. What is worse is that the 2013 budget for standardization is set at 28.5 billion won lower than in the 2012 budget, casting a cloud over the realization of the goal of joining the ranks of the global top seven standardization powers.

The government is seeking to build infrastructure for rising to the rank of a global standardization powerhouse by concentrating manpower and budget on the development of creative and challenging standards that will have far-reaching effects. We plan to overhaul the national standardization systems to the levels of advanced countries, strengthen the standardization capacity of standards organizations like the Cooperation Organization for Standards Development (COSD), and ramp up the support for linking R&D activities and standardization. We also endeavor to step up education and publicity activities to enhance public awareness toward standards and encourage the private sector’s utilization of standards and their proliferation. We devote ourselves to securing the nation’s vantage point in the global market and improving Korean products’ competitive edge by accelerating the development of Korea’s homegrown technologies into international standards.