The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's National Institute of Technology and Standards (Director Kim Dae-ja) announced on July 13th that it successfully hosted a joint briefing session titled ‘Overseas Certification Support Program’ at KOTRA in Seoul. This initiative involved collaboration among eight government ministries with the goal of maximizing accessibility to information and resources for small and medium-sized export enterprises.
This briefing offered comprehensive guidance on diverse overseas certification support initiatives, aimed at bolstering proactive response systems against global certification hurdles. The event featured integrated presentations of overseas certification and export support programs, a demonstration of an AI-powered certification inquiry chatbot, and detailed information on the issuance of key overseas certification test results and certificates domestically. The tailored sessions received significant positive feedback from participating enterprises.
The first session provided insights into essential overseas certification and export marketing support programs, such as the Ministry of Trade's export voucher program and the Small and Medium Business Administration's support for acquiring overseas standards certifications. Notably, specialized support measures from various sectors, including the Ministry of Agriculture’s global growth package for food products, the Ministry of Climate and Environment’s eco-management consulting, the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s international certification for medical devices, the Ministry of Culture’s overseas certification for sports equipment, and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries’ overseas food standards certification were presented. This consolidated approach enabled companies to easily identify suitable support programs for their products and resolve inquiries about overseas certification in one setting.
Furthermore, the second session featured a demonstration of the recently launched AI Overseas Certification Information Service, which began in March. Accessible through the Overseas Certification and Technical Regulation Information Portal (www.knowtbt.kr), this AI service leverages information from 26 relevant organizations to provide comprehensive consultations on certification and regulations, as well as in-depth reports and real-time updates on certification news. This initiative is expected to alleviate the information scarcity faced by enterprises.
The concluding session outlined domestic services coordinated by testing and certification institutions aimed at reducing the financial and time burdens associated with obtaining overseas certifications. Participants received a systematic explanation of key overseas certification test results and certificates available for issuance by various institutions.
Moreover, this event marks the beginning of a series of semiannual joint support program briefings hosted by the National Institute of Technology and Standards’ Overseas Certification Support Team. These sessions will be complemented by ongoing regional seminars focusing on industries with localized specialization, in collaboration with the Ministry of Strategy and Finance’s Export Plus Support Team, as part of a broader strategy to bolster support for regional enterprises.
