ROK Conformity Assessment System: Key Organizations
The Korean conformity assessment system relies on interaction from the major international bodies all the way to the consumers.
A chart showing the interaction between the international and Korean bodies is provided below.
Key organizations in the conformity assessment systemof Korea include:
Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS)
The Korean
Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) sits under the Ministry of
Knowledge & Economy. KATS’ role in Korean conformity assessment is two-fold.
First, KATS administers and coordinates Korean voluntary standardization and
conformity assessment activities. Second, KATS also acts as an accreditation
body, operating two schemes for laboratory and product certification.
Korean Standards Association (KSA)
The Korean Standards Association
(KSA) is a certification body accredited by KATS. Since 1998, KSA has carried out the Korean
Industrial Standards (KS) Certification Scheme, which provides manufacturers
with a certification mark indicating that their product meets the relevant KS
requirements. KSA also carries out
certification according to ISO and other international standards.
Korea Accreditation Board (KAB)
The Korea Accreditation
Board (KAB) is the accreditation body responsible for accrediting certifiers
of Quality Management Systems (QMS) and Environment Management Systems
(EMS). KAB is recognized by the Korean
Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Energy (MOCIE) to run these accreditation
programs.
KAB is the Korean signatory to the International Accreditation Forum
Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (IAF MLA), and represents Korea in the Pacific Accreditation Cooperation
(PAC) for matters related to QMS and EMS.
Learn more about KAB
