The Korea Standards Association (KSA) named Lee Sang-jin its new chairman at the 58th regular conference on March 20 at the KSA Digital Center in Seoul, the association said.

New Chairman and CEO Lee said, “The KSA will play a pivotal role in the development and distribution of standards for newly emerging industries in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

“We will further develop into a professional global standards/quality knowledge service provider to produce satisfactory results that correspond to the rapidly changing industrial environments these days,” he added. He also stated: “To accomplish this, we will equip ourselves with a self-giving leadership, lay a new foundation for growth, and utilize our full-scale capability to strengthen business foundations through selection and concentration.”

Moreover, as a standards leader, the KSA will aggressively respond to global competition in conjunction with the establishment of the local community to secure a share of standardization. The competition for standards is expected to get more intensive all around the world in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. 

“We will put forth a great deal of effort for Korean standards that will be reflected in the fields of the Fourth Industrial Revolution such as a smart factory, a smart city, the Internet of Things (IoT), and big data,” Lee said. In particular, the diversification of KS/ISO certification policies has recently resulted in the rapidly changing certification market environment. Against this backdrop, the KSA will not only provide our customers with high-quality certification services but also continue to advance the existing ones.

In addition, standards and quality are the fundamentals and the orientation of products and services, the new chairman said.

The KSA was founded to contribute to the development of the national economy by boosting industrial standards and quality management, thus promoting scientific techniques and improving production efficiency. Firmly grounded as a top-notch professional group equipped with theories and practical business skills across all industries, the KSA has been leading the national industrial development in the 21st-century technology competition. 

It has made this accomplishment because of its long-accumulated knowledge of and experiences in surveys, research, education and training, KS/ISO certification, events for promotion, and international cooperation concerning industrial standardization and quality management.

The new KSA chairman, an Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, native, is a graduate of Korea University and got his doctorate from the Ohio State University in the Unites States and entered the Ministry of Information and Communication after passing the 32nd National Administrative Examination in 1989. Lee accumulated expertise in trade and industrial policies while serving as the Head of the Software Promotion Department and the Director General for the Industry and Trade Policy of the Office for Government Policy Coordination.

Afterward, Lee served as the Director of the Bureau of Conformity Policy, the Deputy Minister of MOTIE’s Office of Trade Cooperation, the Director General for Investment of MOTIE’s Office of International Trade and Investment, and the Deputy Minister of MOTIE’s Office of Trade Negotiations. Lee also once served as a spokesperson for MOTIE.