Her Nam-yong of Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) presides over a meeting on the 82th IEC General Meeting, to be held in Busan from Oct. 22 to Oct. 28 (Photos: KATS).

Approximately 3,000 delegates from 85 countries will assemble at BEXCO in Busan to participate the 82nd International Electrotechnical Commission General Meeting from Oct. 22 to Oct. 26.

The 82nd IEC General Meeting is hosted by the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) under the umbrella of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and organized by the Korean Standards Association (KSA).

The upcoming IEC general meeting is the third-largest, following the 2016 IEC general meeting in Frankfurt, Germany, and the 2010 IEC general meeting in Seattle, the United States, and the largest-ever in Asia.

The 82th IEC General Meeting is the second General Meeting hosted by the Korean NC, KATS. The IEC is one of the world’s international standardization institutions along with the ISO and ITU. Every year the IEC’s standardization and conformity assessment work leads to a week-long meeting - the IEC General Meeting.

At this event, stakeholders come together in an international setting to decide on current issues and future directions and strategies for the IEC. The General Meeting has a unique format, combining management and technical meetings and bringing all the key players together on one stage. In particular, the IEC General Meeting works on creating, revising and managing international standards in the electrical and electronic sectors, core parts of the 4th Industrial Revolution.

The IEC has 62 member countries, 23 associate members and 86 affiliates.

In a message on Korea’s hosting the 82th IEC General Meeting, President Her Nam-yong of the Korean National Committee of the IEC and Administrator of the KATS said, “We are now experiencing yet another technology revolution and wave of innovation in the fourth industrial revolution, which will not only have a great impact on industries, but also fundamentally transform daily life.”

“One of the biggest changes will be the emergence of hyper-connected societies that connect billions of people to digital networks, things and devices,” he said.

“The Korean National Committee of the IEC is concentrating on achieving ‘innovative growth’ based on state-of-the-art smart edge technology, while the city of Busan is stepping up its efforts to build a smart city ecosystem,” Nam added.

KATS is focusing on boosting national economic growth and being a platform geared toward a knowledge-based society through the development of strategic policies aimed at evolving the relationship between standards and technology, along with the relationship between standards and industry. KATS also seeks to create more convenient and safe environments via standardization. Furthermore, KATS strives to adopt a new paradigm for standardization.

‘IEC city’

The Korean NC will create the small, but compact “IEC city” in Hall 1 of Exhibition Center 1 of BEXCO in parallel with the upcoming IEC General Meeting.

The exhibition space of the electric and electronics companies will be set up in this city to present cutting-edge technologies and standardization activities.

“IEC city” will also provide opportunities for experts and members of the public to share insight and experiences through technical seminars and the Global Convention on Standards Human Resources (HR) under the theme of standards education and related human resources development.

An opening ceremony of the 82th IEC General Meeting will take place on Oct. 22, which will be followed by the Conformity Assessment Board Meeting.

On Oct. 23, there will be a young professionals’ workshop, a regulator forum, and national committee secretaries’ workshop.

The Council Board Meeting is slated for Oct. 24, while the Council Statutory Session will be held to decide major policies on Oct. 26.

A poster of the 82th IEC General Meeting.