The South Korean government is accelerating standardization efforts to ensure compatibility and reliability between industrial data and systems, supporting a major transformation in manufacturing through artificial intelligence (AI). The initiative aims to enhance the competitiveness of the manufacturing AI transition (M.AX) by promoting the international standardization of technologies in advanced industries such as autonomous manufacturing, robotics, and future vehicles.
On October 14, the National Institute of Technology and Standards under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held a ceremony at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry to celebrate 'World Standards Day 2026,' awarding a total of 50 honors to individuals and organizations that contributed to standardization and improvements in technical regulations.
This year marks the 27th celebration, themed 'Manufacturing AI Transition (M.AX), K-Standards Complete.' The theme emphasizes the importance of standards to ensure interoperability and reliability of data and systems as AI becomes more prevalent in manufacturing.
World Standards Day was established in 1970 by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to raise awareness of the importance of standards and promote international standardization activities. South Korea has held annual ceremonies since 2000 to recognize contributions to standardization.
This year's awards include one Gold Tower Industrial Medal, one Industrial Medal, four Presidential Citations, four Prime Minister's Citations, 38 Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Citations, and two National Institute of Technology and Standards Director Citations.
The prestigious Gold Tower Industrial Medal was awarded to Lee Sang-yong, head of the VS Research Institute at LG Electronics. He was recognized for his contributions to the strategic standardization of vehicle software and electronic systems, which have expanded the global standard ecosystem. Notably, he led the establishment of an open-source-based standard ecosystem in the software-defined vehicle (SDV) sector and enhanced competitiveness in global communication standards such as 5G and vehicle-to-everything (V2X).
The Industrial Medal was awarded to Kwon Dae-hyun, a manager at LS Electric. Kwon contributed to the establishment of new international standardization committees for quantum technology and smart manufacturing while serving as a director on the IEC Standardization Management Board (SMB). He also led the first revisions of 12 international standards, including RAPIEnet, an industrial Ethernet-based communication technology.
Presidential Citations were awarded to Han Tae-hwa, a professor at Yonsei University Medical Center, and Kang Hee-jung, CEO of Dayo Med, along with JasTech M and the Korea AI and Robotics Industry Association, for their contributions to the development of international standards in medical AI and digital health.
The government's standardization efforts for manufacturing AI have gained momentum since last year. In December, the National Institute of Technology and Standards held a forum on industrial AI standardization and decided to pursue the development of international standards centered on corporate demand in collaboration with the M.AX Alliance. In July, South Korea took on the role of secretariat for the newly established Smart Manufacturing Standardization Committee (SC65F) under the IEC.
Kim Gyu-sung, head of the National Institute of Technology and Standards, stated, 'To achieve the manufacturing AI transition, standards that ensure interoperability and reliability of AI data and systems are essential. We will actively promote AI industrial convergence standardization to expand M.AX into various industrial sectors such as autonomous manufacturing, robotics, and future vehicles.'
* This article has been translated by AI.
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