Korea, U.S. seek cooperation in shaping technology standards

Korean Vice Minister of Trade, Industry, and Energy Jang Young-jin delivers a greeting speech at the 2023 Korea-U.S. Standards Forum held in Seoul on Aug. 10. [Courtesy of Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy]

South Korean and U.S. standards specialists, along with technical experts from academia and industries, engaged in discussions on Thursday about collaborative efforts on technology standards within key and emerging technology sectors during an annual Korea-U.S. joint forum.

The 2023 Korea-U.S. Standards Forum took place in Seoul on Thursday, co-hosted by the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) under the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy, and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

The event was attended by about 100 participants, including Vice Minister of Trade, Industry, and Energy Jang Young-jin, ANSI President Joe Bhatia, and Senior Advisor for Standards Policy Jayne Morrow from the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

During this year’s event, NIST shared the details of the U.S. National Standards Strategy for Critical and Emerging Technology, which was announced by the White House in May. The KATS also shared the nation’s standardization strategies for advanced technology.

Following the presentations on national strategies for technical standards from each country, experts presented the current status and trends of standardization in five strategic areas, including semiconductor, artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous vehicles, quantum technology, and green energy and carbon neutrality, and discussed collaborative approaches to shape international standards.

In the semiconductor sector, participants discussed the international status regarding chip equipment standardization and mid- to long-term standardization cooperation between Korea and the U.S.

Notably, a proposal was introduced for developing international standards through joint research related to inspection equipment for extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) technology.

Given the foundational technology in the field held by the U.S. and Korea’s strength in memory semiconductors, cooperation between the two countries in the semiconductor sector is deemed essential. Collaborative research in production and inspection equipment is anticipated to facilitate smoother commercialization.

“Enhanced collaboration with the U.S. in standardization could benefit Korean companies amid the technology battle between the U.S. and China concerning chips,” said an unnamed industry insider.

In the AI sector, discussions focused on responses to the European Union‘s AI regulation legislation that has taken effect this year.

In the field of autonomous vehicles, progress in communication and remote control standardization for smart connected systems was shared. Participants in this segment, including Hyundai Motor Co. and LG Electronics Inc., along with the U.S. association of SAE International, identified collaborative research areas for autonomous driving safety and certification.

For the quantum sector, directions for international quantum technology standardization and future cooperation were explored. Particularly, participants delved into the development of a roadmap for sector-specific standardization, such as sensors, devices, and communication, concerning quantum technology.

Regarding the carbon neutrality sector, trends in standardization for carbon reduction technologies, including hydrogen, wind power, solar energy, and small modular reactors (SMR), were shared. There was an effort to establish a Korea-U.S. carbon neutrality standardization consultative body, linked to the Korean carbon neutrality forum, with the aim of institutionalizing collaboration.