KATS Supports Participation of 320 Industry-Academia-Research Experts Annually in International Organization Technical Committee Meetings

In the center is Lee Seung-woo, Director of the National Institute of Technology and Standards, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (Photo by Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government has decided to support 320 experts from industry, academia, and research annually to participate in international organization meetings in order to secure international standards in the era of the 4th Industrial Revolution.

On the 12th, the National Institute of Technology and Standards under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced this year's 'International Standards Activity Support Plan,' which includes participation of private standard experts in meetings of international standardization organizations (ISO, IEC) technical committees.

The National Institute of Technology and Standards will support 320 private experts from industry, academia, and research annually to participate in meetings of international standardization organization technical committees (including subcommittees and working groups) this year.

It will hold 30 meetings annually of international standardization technical committees and related response meetings domestically.

It will focus on supporting international standardization activities in innovative industrial fields such as DNA (Data, Network, AI), which is attracting attention as the next-generation new growth engine, and BIG3 (Bio, Future Cars, System Semiconductors).

To enable participation of startups and small and medium-sized enterprises, it plans to organize and support a 'de facto standardization strategy council' linked with official international standards (ISO, IEC).

In May, the National Institute of Technology and Standards will hold the Northeast Asia Standard Cooperation Forum involving Korea, China, and Japan, and the IEC YP education program, and in August, it will host events such as the International Standards Olympiad domestically.

It will also participate in the Pacific Area Standards Congress (PASC) general meeting held in Russia in May, the African Organization for Standardization (ARSO) general meeting held in Uganda in June, and the Korea-Germany Standard Cooperation Dialogue held in Germany in September.

Efforts will be made to increase the number of Korean executives serving in international standardization organizations. The number of executives steadily increased from about 10 in 2002 to 168 in 2015, 176 in 2016, 185 in 2017, 206 in 2018, and 216 last year.

Currently, 20 technical committee chairs, 29 secretaries, and 167 conveners (working group chairs) are active.

The National Institute of Technology and Standards will fully support private experts serving as executives in international organizations to act as standard diplomats who reflect Korea's standard policies and support the international standardization of Korean technologies.

Lee Seung-woo, head of the National Institute of Technology and Standards, said, "To lead international standardization of innovative industries in the era of the 4th Industrial Revolution, interest and participation from the private sector including companies are important," adding, "We will actively support private experts from industry, academia, and research to grow into global standard experts and achieve 300 international standard proposals and 60 executive positions by 2023."

Last year, Korea succeeded in entering the board of directors at the ISO general assembly, thereby entering the policy councils of the two major international standardization organizations along with the IEC.

The National Institute of Technology and Standards plans to further enhance its status on the international stage by strengthening standardization cooperation with advanced and developing countries, as well as member countries in the New Northern, New Southern, and African regions, serving as a bridge.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.