Jo Young-tae, former director general in charge of trade policy at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, took office as president of Korea Conformity Laboratories (KCL) on Nov. 1.
New KCL President Jo said in his inaugural speech, ¡°KCL will continue to explore and implement new businesses so that Korean companies can spearhead ESG management and secure a global competitive edge.¡±
¡°I will make efforts to make KCL a top-tier testing and certification institution through strengthening of its staffers¡¯ capabilities and improving of working conditions,¡± he added.
New KCL President Jo graduated from Seoul National University Business Administration Department and Graduate School.
He began his public career as an officer with the European Trade Department of the predecessor of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) after passing the 36th higher administrative examination.
He held major positions, such as director in charge of industry technology policy, a researcher with Stanford University, a commerce attaché with Korean Embassy in Vietnam, head of the Trade Investigation Office of Korea Trade Commission, and chief of the Policy Development Office at National Balanced Development Information System (NABIS).
KCL was established through the merger of Korea Institute of Construction Materials (KICM) and Korea Environment & Merchandise Testing Institute (KEMTI) on July 2010, and KCL is a related entity with Korean Agency for Technology of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
¡°KCL upholds the highest standards in testing and certification industries in Korea,¡± said KCL President Cho in his message to KCL¡¯s website.
¡°Based on the extensive experience and technological expertise we accumulated over the past half-century, KCL is committed to testing, inspection and certification of construction materials, consumer products, energy and environmental products, setting new standards in consumer safety and helping companies gain competitive advantages in the global market.¡±
¡°Lately, we have been focusing on building testing and certification infrastructure for R&D efforts in the renewable energy, bio and medical sectors as well as in safety as we expedite global collaboration with the Middle East, China and Mongolia to help companies expand their presence in the global market.¡±
¡°At KCL, we will continue to advance our expertise to offer one-stop total service from simple testing and analysis to cutting-edge technologies to provide the highest level of customer satisfaction.¡±