General Standards
Trade standards in Korea comply with the basic principles of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), as well as with other international standards organizations. The development of Korean standards is controlled by the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS). There are over 20,000 Korean Standards (KS). However, many other standards are applied, some of them being those developed by ISO and IEC. There are also regional and foreign national standards.
Standards Organizations
The main organization for standardization in Korea is the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards. The KATS is responsible for developing standards for most industrial products. The agency consults with other private organizations to develop standards and certification requirements.
KATS’ primary objectives are the following:
- Advancement and innovation of the national standards system
- Strengthening of the technology infrastructure of the standards system, and continuously improve the legal metrology system
- Effective representation of Korea in international standardization activities
- Assisting the private sector in increasing its capacity to develop standards
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is in charge of the standards for research, new product evaluation, test method development, product monitoring for food, medical devices, pharmaceuticals and radiation technology distributed within Korea.
Conformity Assessment
The Korean Agency for Technology and Standards develops instructions for government and private sector institutions to perform reliability assessment and certification. In addition, KATS operates market control on Korean Certification (KC)-marked products, penalizing products that do not meet KC requirements.
Korea is a GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) contracting party, this is why the country applies open procedures for the adoption of standards, announces recommended standards, provides sufficient information on proposed standards, and allows sufficient time for countries to comment on proposed standards implementation.
Product Certification
KATS is the body which issues certification marks and recognizes quality products manufactured by Korean companies to promote exports and imports into Korea. The KC Mark is required to reduce and minimize repetitive testing at various ministries and agencies. The consolidation of these marks ensures that companies, both Korean and foreign, will save time and costs.
Details on the KC Mark can be found here: http://www.standardsportal.org/usa_kr/e/conformity_assessment/ca_marks_used_in_korea.aspx
Accreditation
The Korea Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (KOLAS) is the government accreditation body under the KATS Department of Technology and Standards Planning.
Useful contacts
Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS)
http://www.kats.go.kr/en_kats/
Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS)
http://www.MFDS.go.kr/eng/index.do
Korean Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (KOLAS)
