KATS Strives to Raise
Awareness toward Standards

Beefs up the functions of standards in the service sector and public life

In Korea, many people still perceive standards as only quality control of products, a job spearheaded by the now-defunct Industrial Promotion Administration during the 1970s. However, Choi Kaphong, administrator of the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS), stresses the need for raising public awareness about standardization, saying, "Global standards tend to serve as a guideline for promoting integration and economic development in the current era of globalization."Establishment of technology infrastructure can be divided into four stages: civil engineering infrastructure, R&D infrastructure, manpower infrastructure and soft infrastructure. The KATS administrator also commented that Korea has reached a stage of manpower infrastructure, but not the soft infrastructure stage, in which a combination of standard, patent and design is determining the competitive edge of each country. Korea has made some improvements in terms of patent and design,
but the country needs to strengthen standardization in its role as a kind of public good. Overall, standardization has been emerging as a more significant factor in developing a next-generation soft infrastructure.
"Next year, Korea may join advanced countries like the UK and Germany in releasing a study about the social and economic benefits of standardization. It is reported that more than 80 percent of international trade is related to standards and the importance of standardization is recognized for its contribution to raising companies"revenue by some 10 percent,"he said.
In 1995, WTO member countries concluded the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), calling for the use of international standards and avoidance of unnecessary barriers to trade -- except those related to the environment, safety and health. The TBT was a means of promoting trade different from conventional functions of standardization: compatibility, simplification, requirement of minimum quality and provision of information.
For example, the EU tends to implement trade restrictions by capitalizing on the exceptional clauses concerning the environment, one of the three exceptions of the TBT.
Even though standards take on significance as a kind of trade-fostering means, Korea's understanding of standardization is still limited to the past function of promoting product quality. As such, awareness toward modern standards usage needs to be increased among policymakers.
With this as a backdrop, KATS plans to strengthen the functions of standardization in the service sector as well as public life, like funerals and travel. True to the catchphrase "From Cradle to Grave,"KATS plans to set standards for quality of life, ranging from infants to the underprivileged and the dead. The measures will include standards for child birth, education, weddings and funerals next year. "For example, such standards as the size and height of toilet stools and electric switches are being set in the interests of disabled and elderly people,"the KATS administrator said.
These days, standards seem to be reinforced in terms of social responsibility -- anticorruption, ethics, labor and the environment. Awareness toward standardization will have to be raised among policymakers and economic parties so that they may bring about economic development and social integration.
"Whether corporations comply with corporate transparency, ethics and environmental requirements becomes a subject of keen concern,"he said.
The Korean government is working on an energy risk-management scheme calling for energy-saving technology standards and energy management, with the goal of creating an industrial structure less dependent on energy.
Task forces have been activated at the Federation of Korean Industries and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry to watch the global developments related to SR.
The EU has adopted a "New Approach,"stipulating directives and basic requirements so that each member country can follow them. As a result, standards like the GSM, a European standard on wireless communication technology, are emerging as a means of promoting social integration.
A recent ISO general meeting also discussed the need for sharing standards on risk management against national crises.
On the occasion of Standard Day, which falls on November 3rd this year, the KATS administrator said that KATS will celebrate "Standard Week"to bring awareness to the general public that standards are becoming more significant tools for promoting social integration, trade and corporate management.
KATS has declared a mid and long-term development strategy, dubbed "KATS 235."That means "be the first"with the goal of elevating itself to a top-class standardization organization. The number '2'indicates the vision's enhancement of trade and industry competitiveness through technology innovation and standards; '3'refers to the three stakeholders ― consumers, companies and government; '5'symbolizes the five main tasks ― establishing the nation's standardization system, securing a product safety management system,

assisting national technology innovations, promoting international standardization activities and optimizing organizational capabilities.
To this end, KATS has been putting into practice three innovative tasks. First, under the Quivice ( Quick and Quality Service) Program, KATS is offering clientele-specific services to meet diverse demands from each client: for the consumer, the demand for safety of products and its assessment standards; for the corporate client, a means of improving performance and efficiency; for government, a demand for the implementation of policy goals.
The agency is implementing the SPIRIT (Solid Passionate Interactive Reliable Innovative Teamwork)-KATS 2006, a program designed to beef up innovative activities under the catchphrase "KATS Doing Its Utmost to Be the Best."The Resources Optimization (RESOP) Project is being pushed ahead with a bid to optimize internal resources such as budgets and personnel and maximize management efficiency.
In order to meet such demands as the expansion of standardization's functions to trade promotion, environmental protection and social integration, KATS Administrator Choi said his administration has reorganized three departments and 14 divisions responsible for standardization into two departments and eight teams exclusively specializing in standardization.
KATS has expanded the number of safety-related divisions to four teams in a bid to promote safety of products put on the market and to strengthen its role in protecting the underprivileged.
The Standards Technology Support Team, Standards Technology Planning Team and New Technology Certification Support Team have been inaugurated to assume such jobs as building up software infrastructure and strengthening their roles supporting standard technologies. They deal with standards and certification related to the whole cycle of corporate activities ranging from product planning to sales, to exports to the newly integrated New Excellent Product (NEP) certification.
KATS has strengthened its role in overseeing and coordinating as a government representative agency designed to cope with external changes related to: the World Trade Organization (WTO); Agreements on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT); also, Free Trade Agreements. In particular, KATS has discontinued such functions as testing and inspection, which have given way to outsourcing. Instead it will reposition itself as a full-fledged representative government standards organization, focusing on building up the national standards infrastructure.
In an effort to beef up standardization's role in encouraging such knowledge-oriented activities as patent and design development, Choi said that KATS is striving to establish a system for building up soft infrastructure. It plans to expedite commercialization of developed technologies and patents by linking R&D activities and standardization in a bid to secure national competitiveness.
KATS plans to operate a standard technology support program designed to help companies benefit from support of soft infrastructure when they are engaged in the whole cycle of corporate activities. The agency plans to support technologies designed to standardize such activities as production and quality management, as well to support soft infrastructure on such standards as market exploration, logistics, transactions and financing.
Korea needs to promote balanced development of service and manufacturing industries. KATS operates a system for certifying excellent companies offering quality services. Fifty-five service businesses in 11 fields benefit from the certification. The number of certified companies rose from 36 firms in 2004 to 74 in 2005 and 60 during the first seven months of this year.
In order to cope with the inauguration of ISO'technical committees such as ISO TC222, ISO TC224 and ISO TC228 and demands for international standards, KATS plans to develop an infrastructure to foster service standard professionals who are able to address international standards issues in the service sector. The agency plans to work out assessment indexes and implementation procedures, and other details on standardizing such diverse service industries as consulting and tourism.
It also plans to expand standardization on products and services. It will use these standards in an effort to help the underprivileged lead a self-sufficient life and engage in brisk social activities. This process will also create new cultural values by expanding standardization to meet diverse consumers'needs. nw

Choi Kaphong, administrator of the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS)

KATS Administrator Choi Kaphong and Kim Jae-ok, chairperson of Consumers Korea and concurrently COPOLCO chairperson, participate in the 2006 ISO General Assembly held in Ottawa on Sept. 11-16.