Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Korea Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) hosted the 22nd Northeast Asia Standards Cooperation Forum (NEAS Forum) through July 15–17 in Seoul. A total of 127 government officials and private experts from Korea, China, and Japan participated in the event.

Launched in 2002 and rotated among Korea, China, and Japan, the NEAS Forum serves as a trilateral public-private standards cooperation and exchange platform for the major standards institutions of the three countries. The Forum also facilitates the sharing of national standards strategies and exchanges among private-sector standards experts. Through these interactions, the experts of three countries were able to publish 29 international standards. In conjunction with the Forum, Korea’s KATS, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI), and China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) hold bilateral and trilateral director general-level meetings to discuss measures for enhancing standards cooperation among the three nations.

During the 22nd NEAS Forum, the three countries engaged in in-depth discussions on 18 new joint projects, including one on metaverse healthcare service, and nine existing joint projects, including one on freight containers. They also agreed to consider launching a working group of experts from each country to oversee the new projects. 

In relation to Korea’s technical white paper project on medium voltage direct currents (MVDC), which was selected by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), Korea requested the participation of experts from China and Japan. Additionally, Korea sought support from the two countries for six international standards proposals, such as the service robot testing method, to submit to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).