Korea Standards Agency Holds Forum on Industrial Measurement Strategy for Advanced Industries

  South Korea’s Korean Agency for Technology and Standards, under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, said Tuesday it held a policy forum on industrial measurement to support the advancement of high-tech industries.

The agency said it used the forum to discuss strategies with industry officials in sectors including semiconductors, aviation, defense, and nuclear power.

Industrial measurement refers to the infrastructure that ensures accuracy and reliability in measurements across industrial processes, enabling better quality control, improved safety, and more credible testing and certification. The agency said its importance is growing in advanced industries such as semiconductors, biotech and defense, where nanometer-level precision is required. 

It also said cases are increasing in which buyers, when importing aircraft and defense products, demand not only the product but also a “measurement and calibration package” that includes measurement equipment and calibration systems. The agency said such requirements are being viewed as a key factor in export competition between countries. 

The agency said South Korea’s industries remain heavily dependent on overseas suppliers for advanced measurement equipment and core metrology and measurement technologies, and that measurement management systems across industry have not been sufficiently upgraded. It said this could become a structural constraint on global competitiveness. 

At the forum, participants presented cases of applying ultra-precision metrology and measurement technologies in industrial settings and outlined the government’s policy direction. Experts from industry, academia and research institutes, including Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), Hanwha Aerospace and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, discussed development strategies to meet rising demands for precision in advanced industries.

The government said it plans to foster industrial measurement as a national priority by expanding related research and development and building regional support centers, while continuing to broaden field-focused support.

“Industrial measurement is no longer a supporting technology but a core infrastructure that determines the competitiveness of advanced industries,” KATS Administrator Kim Dae-ja said. “We will further strengthen our industries’ global competitiveness by securing precise measurements and reliable data.”