New Nat`l Standard Certification Announced

A new single certification “KC,” or Korea Certification, will remove confusion over the different industrial standards applied to electronic appliances, elevators, wireless devices and measuring machines.

The government said yesterday that the number of application types will also be reduced from 20 to nine, lifting a heavy burden for applicant companies.

KC will take effect in July next year first at the Knowledge Economy Ministry and then in 2010 at all other ministries. The mark was adopted by the National Standards Deliberation Committee chaired by Prime Minister Han Seung-soo.

Certification marks now in use will be replaced by KC in phases.

Ten ministries had competed for years to create a new certification to promote consumer safety. Criticism was rife that the regulations were too complicated and misleading, with 13 standards in 39 fields.

Companies have had to acquire redundant certifications or not be allowed to sell their products, creating waste.

Aside from the new certification, the government will also consolidate similar standards, acknowledge results of the same tests conducted on other certifications, and eliminate redundant certifications for the same product.

cha@donga.com