[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] A bill enabling comprehensive management and supervision of conformity assessment tasks has been prepared. Conformity assessment refers to activities that verify whether products and services created by companies meet standards through testing, certification, inspection, calibration, and other means. Expectations are rising that a foundation has been established to develop the domestic testing and certification industry into a high value-added service industry.
The National Institute of Technology and Standards under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that the "Act on the Management of Conformity Assessment, etc.," which passed the National Assembly in June, was approved at the Cabinet meeting on the 31st and will be enforced starting April next year.
Conformity assessment plays a role in protecting consumers and supporting companies' new product development by preventing the distribution of substandard products and verifying the performance of new products.
Until now, there was no law to manage and supervise conformity assessment tasks, so accredited testing and certification institutions were managed based on the National Institute of Technology and Standards' notices reflecting the regulations of the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC). However, there were limitations in preventing fraudulent activities, and general testing and certification institutions other than accredited ones were in a blind spot of management.
With the enactment of this law, a legal basis for the management and supervision of all testing and certification institutions, not only accredited institutions, has been established.
First, to enhance the reliability of testing and certification, forgery and falsification of test reports and false issuance have been prohibited. A legal basis for punishment in case of violations has also been established. General testing and certification institutions are required to keep evaluation results and test reports for a certain period.
In addition, by stipulating the accreditation procedure for accredited institutions in the law, legal stability has been secured. The accreditation system for accredited institutions refers to a system that evaluates and guarantees the capabilities of domestic testing and certification institutions according to international standards so that test reports and certificates issued by domestic testing and certification institutions can be recognized overseas to support export companies.
A new system has been introduced to impose fines if a suspension of qualification is required but there is no alternative accredited institution. Fines of up to 500 million KRW can be imposed, and this applies only if defects have been corrected.
To respond to the testing demand for various innovative products, a legal basis has been established to support capacity building of testing and certification institutions, including development of testing standards, advancement of equipment, and human resource training. This lays the groundwork to promote the testing and certification service industry as a high value-added knowledge service industry.
An official from the National Institute of Technology and Standards stated, "With the enforcement of the Conformity Assessment Management Act, fraudulent and poor-quality tests such as issuance of false test reports related to nuclear power plant parts and inadequate testing of apartment floor noise will be fundamentally blocked, and it will be an opportunity to grow the testing and certification industry into a high value-added service industry."
He added, "We will promote the establishment of subordinate laws such as enforcement decrees in the first half of this year and prepare for smooth enforcement of the law by informing the purpose of the legislation and detailed implementation plans through briefings and other means."
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