S. Korea Aims to Set Global High Tech Standards
South Korea plans to become a leader in future international standards for high tech industries, the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards said Monday.
The agency under the commerce ministry said in its five-year plan that the
country aims to account for at least 15 percent of International Organization of
Standardization (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)
standards in key industries in the coming years.
The industries are to include information technology that covers digital TVs, home networking, digital content and telematics. Digital infrastructure, which encompasses semiconductors and displays and other potential growth industries like robotics, automobiles, batteries and biotech sectors. Seoul has said that the 10 industrial areas will act as future engines of growth.
The state agency said at a policy forum in Seoul that the goal is to get the hundreds of technologies developed locally to be recognized by the ISO and IEC. It added that it will push forward comprehensive plans to link technological advances in the private sector so they could receive patents and become listed on an international level.
The Korean Standards Association, the Korea Electronics Technology Institute and the Korea Automotive Technology Institute will also take part in the effort to transform the country into a global leader in industrial standards.
"The whole point is to turn the country from a 'user' to 'maker' of new cutting-edge technologies and engineering and further strengthen the lead enjoyed by local companies in certain areas," a government official said.
He said setting standards allows the country to set the direction of future development that others will follow, giving its companies an edge.
The government has said that due to the need to make products that have global applications, more and more companies and countries were paying attention to this field.
"There are plenty of cases, such as with Sony's Betamax video format, where the technology was top notch but failed to be accepted by the world and ended up causing problems for both manufacturers and consumers," the official said.
The industries are to include information technology that covers digital TVs, home networking, digital content and telematics. Digital infrastructure, which encompasses semiconductors and displays and other potential growth industries like robotics, automobiles, batteries and biotech sectors. Seoul has said that the 10 industrial areas will act as future engines of growth.
The state agency said at a policy forum in Seoul that the goal is to get the hundreds of technologies developed locally to be recognized by the ISO and IEC. It added that it will push forward comprehensive plans to link technological advances in the private sector so they could receive patents and become listed on an international level.
The Korean Standards Association, the Korea Electronics Technology Institute and the Korea Automotive Technology Institute will also take part in the effort to transform the country into a global leader in industrial standards.
"The whole point is to turn the country from a 'user' to 'maker' of new cutting-edge technologies and engineering and further strengthen the lead enjoyed by local companies in certain areas," a government official said.
He said setting standards allows the country to set the direction of future development that others will follow, giving its companies an edge.
The government has said that due to the need to make products that have global applications, more and more companies and countries were paying attention to this field.
"There are plenty of cases, such as with Sony's Betamax video format, where the technology was top notch but failed to be accepted by the world and ended up causing problems for both manufacturers and consumers," the official said.
