Prevention-oriented security management system established in Korea and international standardization to be prioritized in 2006 Standards are being utilized everywhere in our daily lives nowadays, from a simple screw, or a toothed wheel, to cutting-edge technology such as IT, NT, BT and traffic signal systems. Moreover, services such as safety of food and consumer products are now increasingly taking into consideration the interests of socially-alienated people, such as the aged and the disabled, as well as services such as finance and transportation. Accordingly, there is a necessity for enlarging the scope of standardization for established industrial products and manufacturing- oriented technology to include aspects such as service, security, and the environment. In this regard, Administrator Kim Hye-won, Agency for Technology and S t a n d a r d s ( w w w . a t s . g o . k r ) , Ministry of Commerce, Industry & Energy, in an exclusive interview with the Korea IT Times, outlined the Agency's plans for next year, saying that it is important to establish an integration and dissemination system of national standards, as well as technology standards, and to consolidate Korea's complicated certification system. The Administrator, who took office at the beginning of this year as a representative case of the appointment of top technical position women at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (MOCIE), further stressed that it is the Agency's task to develop standards with high market relevance by consolidating the national standardization system in a comprehensive way and by activating private standard development such as group standards. Focusing on international standardization activity In addition to promoting visible projects of different standards unification between South and North Korea to boost inter- Korean economic exchanges effectively, Kim is planning to support overseas market initiatives through strengthening international standardization activity. To this end, the Administrator said the Agency for Technology and Standards will spare no efforts to support international dissemination as well as world market domination by leading technology from Korea through nurturing specialized manpower, information sharing about international standard movement and international standards development/proposals. Mrs. Kim points out that such efforts are unlikely to succeed through the government's efforts alone, since recent standards' trends are far-reaching, massive in terms of their scope and depth and are based on mutual consensus. In that respect, Kim notes that the role of allotment-coordinating function is necessary in conjunction with standards between ministries to advance such policies at a pan-ministry level. Proactive confrontation to Technical Barriers to Trade Concerning finding solutions to technical barriers, the Administrator added, "As each nation's standards are established according to their needs and goals, different systems between nations come to act as potential trade barriers. In recent years, standards as well as certification systems are on the rise in terms of examples which are utilized as Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) for the sake of their country industry protection among globalization trends of commerce." She further indicated that in recent international trade, factors in the system including technology regulation stand out in bold relief as important barriers that influence trade between countries. To minimize technical barriers, bottlenecks from which Korea's export business circles are suffering, the Agency for Technology and Standards is providing them with real-time information through its home-page by analyzing technology restrictions from counterpart countries whose influence is expected to be significant to Korea's export business circles. She added that currently a TBT investigation research team in which approximately 100 persons in 10 fields take part from the government, associated institutions and enterprises, is being operated and the Agency for Technology and Standards is constructing an information support system with trade-related organizations such as the Korea Trade-Investment Agency (KOTRA) and the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) in the interests of swift information collection on technical barriers. In particular, Kim explained that from 2006, the Agency is planning to establish and operate a "Technology Barriers Declaration Center (Shinmungo)" within which relevant enterprises can address problem firsthand regarding irrational technical barriers and demand their scrapping, as well as improvements from counterpart import countries. In addition, the Agency for Technology and Standards has Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) negotiations within FTAs between regions as well as nations under way to solve Technical Barriers to Trade ultimately, she said. As part of such MRA negotiations, the Agency has wrapped up MRA negotiations with Singapore in the fields of electric supplies security as well as communication machinery & tools with a form of quasi signature in June 2005. Kim explained that the Agency for Technology and Standards is actively pursuing MRAs with countries or emerging markets whose amount of trade with Korea is significant, such as the EU, the United States of America and India. Certification product preferential purchase support With regard to strengthening certification control of NT and EM, she said that the Agency is planning to enforce an integration certification system from 2006 to operate a new technology certification system more effectively and systematize support policies which has been operated by ministries, such as the Ministry of Science & Technology (MOST): (NT, EM, KT), the Ministry of Construction and Transportation (MCT): (CT), and the Ministry of Environment (ET). In addition, she has committed herself to supporting Korean industry technology's innovation by operating new product certification more effectively and by supporting new product's commercialization more actively. Kim went on to say that the Agency would boost its certification policy, laying emphasis on the improvement of three certification system elements such as inspection, support and its operation method in relation to the government's new technology certification system such as NT/EM etc. Ms Kim added that the Agency for Technology and Standards has streamlined certification procedures to facilitate relevant companies' technology development, while at the same time endowing them with certification product's sales route support as well as incentives by securing fairness of its inspection. She went on to explain that the goal of NT/EM certification system operation is to induce industry technology's innovation by boosting the utilization of new Korean technology and by enhancing efficiency of technology development investment. In fact, preferential purchases by public institutions of certification products have increased from 69.1 billion won in 2003 (approx. $ 67 million) to 104.1 billion won in 2004 (approx. $101 million), showing an increase of 50.7percent in comparison with the preceding year. Besides such preferential purchase support, the Agency for Technology and Standards is also supporting exhibition participation expenses for the purpose of expanding marketing of certification products. Big contribution toward Korea becoming an industrial power As Korea's national standardization institution, Kim underscores that the Agency for Technology and Standardization has carried out a centripetal role for Korea to be a standardization hub at home and abroad and promote standardization collaboration between ministries. Fully aware of this important mission, she said that the Agency for Technology and Standardization will focus its priority on establishing an advanced country-model security management system centering around quicker and more efficient security management, confronting pending issues and taking pre-emptive measures from next year. As part of such projects, she proposed that the Agency will unfold consumer security-network construction business preferentially next year including the introduction of industrial products noxiousness warning system, strengthening inspection of goods on the market and boosting security protection of products for children. The administrator concluded her remarks by emphasizing that the Agency for Technology and Standards will be reborn as a technology innovation support organization, as well paving the way for more inroads into global markets for core technology by upgrading next-generation core technologies such as IT, BT, NT swiftly to international standards.