Purpose of Shortening Certification Period
[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] The Ministry of Science and ICT has designated three additional institutions as Good Software (GS) certification bodies for the first time in 13 years. The certification fields of the existing GS certification body, Korea Testing Laboratory, will also be expanded from 7 to all 21 fields.
The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 17th that it held a committee meeting on the 13th to review new designations and field expansions, deciding accordingly.
The Ministry of Science and ICT introduced the GS certification to contribute to improving the quality of domestic software. However, the software industry has pointed out issues of certification delays due to the limited number of certification bodies?only two, the Korea Information and Communication Technology Association and Korea Testing Laboratory?being unable to promptly respond to the increasing demand for certification.
As part of proactive administration to alleviate the burden on the software industry, the Ministry of Science and ICT newly designated GS certification bodies. After announcement of application, document review, and on-site inspection, the evaluation was conducted in accordance with the Software Promotion Act. Accordingly, three institutions?the Korea Machinery and Electrical Electronics Testing Institute, Busan IT Convergence Components Research Institute, and Korea Chemical Convergence Testing Institute?were newly designated for certain fields.
The certification fields of the existing certification body, Korea Testing Laboratory, were also expanded from the previous 7 to all 21 fields.
Kim Jeong-sam, Director of Software Policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT, stated, "Since this is the first new designation of certification bodies and expansion of certification fields in 13 years, we hope software companies can receive certification in a timely manner." He added, "We will strive to ensure that the newly designated institutions settle successfully and contribute to improving corporate benefits by shortening certification periods, reducing certification costs, and providing high-quality certification services."
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