Sungil Ahn, President of KTC: "Dedicated Efforts for Corporate Growth, Regional Innovation, and International Trade Leader"
Article by The Electric Times: An Interview with Reporter Yang Jong-seok.
Sungil Ahn, President of Korea Testing Certification institute (KTC), has consistently emphasized the need to enhance global capabilities to keep pace with South Korea's manufacturing sector, which has produced numerous world-leading companies in areas such as semiconductors and batteries. He stressed that amid global players like UL and TUV dominating the international testing and certification market, South Korean testing and certification institutions must secure a competitive position globally.
Established in 1969, KTC is a highly regarded international testing and certification institution representing South Korea. It offers testing and certification services across various industries, including machinery, electrical and electronic engineering, information and communication, energy, and biotechnology.
For products to be exported to specific countries, they must meet the testing and certification standards mandated by the respective government. KTC consistently contributes to facilitating South Korean companies' exports by connecting them with their target markets through testing and certification.
Sungil Ahn assumed the role of President of KTC in January. Faced with the ongoing Fourth Industrial Revolution, intensifying competition between the US and China, and the global supply chain restructuring prompted by the Ukraine-Russia conflict, his mandate includes ensuring KTC's stability and charting its future.
Earlier this year, he introduced KTC's vision as a "globally competitive testing and certification institution at the forefront of driving the digital and green transformation of industries." To turn this vision into reality, he has also crafted the "KTC 13 Strategic Fields and Roadmap."
In our interview with President Ahn, we delved into the current state and future of KTC. He expressed his commitment to harnessing KTC's strengths and the expertise accumulated over 54 years to actively support businesses and collaborate with partners while working toward South Korea's emergence as a dominant force in global trade.
He introduced a new vision for KTC upon assuming his role.
▲ Earlier this year, in collaboration with all team members, they formulated a fundamental principle of ensuring a “safe and trustworthy society" and a vision of becoming a "globally competitive testing and certification institution leading the digital and green transformation of industries." With this foundation, they established three primary objectives: fostering corporate growth, promoting regional innovation, and propelling the nation towards becoming a interantional tradetrade leader. In July, a vision declaration ceremony was convened, attended by over 120 key stakeholders.
When analyzing South Korea's import-export trends, as of 2022, the manufacturing sector contributes 26.7% to the nation's gross domestic product (GDP), while exports constitute 46% of the domestic GDP. South Korea ranks as the world's third-most competitive manufacturing hub. This dual identity signifies that South Korea excels in manufacturing and heavily relies on exports. To bolster its standing in key global industries, prioritizing export growth through sustained manufacturing expansion is of paramount importance.
The substantial proportion of manufacturing in the GDP and the country's dependence on exports underscore the pivotal role played by KTC. To facilitate the domestic sales and overseas market penetration of innovative products, businesses must give paramount importance to consumer safety, adhering to rigorous testing, certification, and inspection procedures that adhere to established standards and technical criteria.
As of 2022, the global testing and certification market was valued at 129 trillion won. Amongst this, the top 10 institutions commanded a 42% share, equivalent to 52.1 trillion won. They have ventured into pioneering business models, including data analysis and the Internet of Things (IoT), aimed at elevating service quality. Furthermore, they have expanded their operational scope across diverse sectors, encompassing manufacturing, healthcare, aviation, and aerospace. In recent times, their focus has intensified on sustainability and green certifications, encompassing environmental sustainability and energy efficiency.
In contrast, the Korean testing and certification market amounted to 8.5 trillion won as of 2022. It has exhibited an average annual growth rate of approximately 6.4%. The combined annual revenue of domestic testing and certification organizations, including KTC, totals around 1 trillion won, constituting a mere 11.8% of the global market.
To confront this challenge and lay the foundation for significant progress, KTC has taken its initial step by instilling core values, a vision, and objectives, all aligned with the mindset of its workforce. Additionally, they have identified 13 strategic areas of focus, placing a strong emphasis on nationally competitive advanced industries such as batteries, electric vehicles, renewable energy, semiconductors, and biotech.
What are the 13 strategic fields of KTC's management?
▲ Under the "Digital Transformation" category, they encompass semiconductors, software, 5G, smart appliances, and intelligent robotics. "Green Transformation" includes electric cars, batteries, renewable energy, hydrogen, and fields related to carbon reduction. "Future Growth Industries and Nationally Important Industries" consist of biotech, healthcare, materials, components, equipment, defense industry, and aviation.
These 13 strategic fields are increasingly interlinked, thanks to ongoing technological advancements, transcending traditional boundaries. KTC has devised short-term, medium-term, and long-term roadmaps by conducting comprehensive research, analyzing market and technological trends within each sector, and closely examining pertinent government policies. In August, they initiated a significant internal reorganization aimed at methodically and efficiently advancing these 13 strategic areas. The effects of this reorganization are gradually materializing.
In the electric vehicle charging sector, they have pioneered the development of the "EV-Q" quality certification model and established the KTC-Hyundai Motor Group EV Charging Infrastructure Quality Certification Center in June. Additionally, they have been selected as the designated test site for electronic wave emissions testing of Hyundai and Kia electric vehicle products starting this month. With the capacity to offer comprehensive testing services across various automotive electronics segments, they anticipate substantial enhancements in customer efficiency.
Within the hydrogen and semiconductor domains, they have undertaken projects related to safety verification technology for hydrogen blending within urban gas pipelines and research and development (R&D) endeavors concerning display semiconductor modules and integrated semiconductor sensors, respectively. In the aviation sector, they are actively engaged in the Korean-style BFT communication satellite large antenna technology project in collaboration with major domestic aviation-related companies such as Hanwha Systems and Korean Air. Moreover, they plan to explore opportunities in the urban air mobility (UAM) sector in the future.
In the renewable energy sector, they have taken on the grid forming technology development project aimed at facilitating smart grid transformation, a crucial aspect of energy technology development. In the power equipment sector, they successfully established a high-voltage cable testing and evaluation infrastructure in January, initiating service provision. They are extending support to domestic companies like LS Cable, HD Hyundai Electric, and Iljin Electric, bolstering their export efforts.
Strengthened regulations in various countries have underscored the growing importance of international cooperation.
▲ Recently, KTC entered into a business agreement with ECM, an Italian-based European medical device MDR certification body. KTC achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first domestic testing and certification organization to be registered as a designated testing body for medical device certification. This development allows KTC to proactively assist Korean companies grappling with export challenges amid the reinforcement of Europe's medical device management system.
KTC has also obtained registration as an MDR auditor, marking a pioneering achievement among domestic testing and certification organizations. Korean companies can now leverage KTC's services to expedite certification acquisition and reduce sample transportation expenses.
In Germany, KTC has established a collaborative framework across seven key areas in partnership with Eurofins and TÜV SÜD, which rank as the 2nd and 5th largest global testing and certification organizations. These areas encompass a wide spectrum, including IoT and medical device cybersecurity testing, software quality testing, electric vehicle charger safety and EMC testing, battery safety testing, safety and EMC testing of solar modules and inverters, safety and EMC testing of medical devices, as well as wireless communication and EMC testing for commercial electrical and electronic equipment. Eurofins has secured designation as a CE testing organization for these fields.
Furthermore, KTC has forged cooperative networks with major testing and certification organizations in various countries, including Indonesia (PLN), the United Arab Emirates (DSP Free Zone, RACS, GulfTIC), Germany (TÜV Rheinland, QIMA, TÜV SÜD, Eurofins), the United States (UL Solutions), Japan (JQA, UL Japan, JET, Cosmos), and Norway (NEMKO).
On the domestic front, KTC has inked agreements with institutions such as the Military Manpower Administration, the Information and Communication Planning and Evaluation Institute, the Information Protection Industry Association, and Eurofins KCTL. These collaborations serve to fortify the civilian-military cooperation system, particularly in the realm of IoT cybersecurity testing and certification.
What are the plans to achieve the three major management goals of "corporate growth, regional innovation, and becoming a international trade leader"?
▲ To facilitate corporate growth, KTC intends to enhance its testing, examination, and certification services in collaboration with Italian ECM and MDR auditors, aimed at facilitating CE certification acquisition to comply with European medical device regulation (MDR).
Starting next year, they will establish the necessary verification infrastructure and develop novel testing services pertaining to 12 types of charging connectors for portable electronic devices in Europe, where USB-C standards will become mandatory. KTC has secured an R&D project for building a USB-C standard verification infrastructure, supported by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. Since April, they have been diligently working on securing testing and evaluation infrastructure.
In the software (SW) field, they plan to expand the certification scope to encompass 21 areas by year-end, driven by the demand for GS (Good Software) certification. Their services will include SW quality assessment, functional safety evaluation, and artificial intelligence (AI) reliability assessment.
Given the ongoing efforts by Korean companies in the electric vehicle charger sector to expand their exports, particularly to North America, where the NTEP and CTEP certification systems for electric vehicle charger meters were introduced in 2020, KTC aims to provide comprehensive support for manufacturers looking to enter the North American market. They will offer an all-inclusive "North American certification" service, covering safety, electromagnetic wave, energy efficiency certification, in addition to metrological performance certification. Collaborative marketing initiatives with global certification organizations like UL Solutions will also be conducted to assist customer exports.
Regarding regional innovation, their strategy involves the expansion of testing and certification infrastructure in key regions. This includes the recent opening of the Samcheok ESS Fire Testing Center in Gangwon Province and the upcoming Asan Sleep Industry Promotion Center scheduled for December in Chungcheong Province. The Samcheok ESS Fire Testing Center is poised to boost exports for Korean ESS companies and enhance domestic competitiveness in the renewable energy sector.
In the Gyeongsangnam-do region, KTC will bolster its network for establishing testing centers to foster the hydrogen and defense industries, both pivotal for future core business sectors. Changwon, known as Korea's largest defense city, is home to major domestic defense-related companies like Hanwha Defense, Hyundai Rotem, and LIG Nex1. These firms are actively involved in the hydrogen industry, including the establishment of Korea's first hydrogen energy circulation system verification site.
KTC's plans include establishing testing infrastructure and securing a strong presence for regional testing centers in alignment with Changwon's efforts to promote the hydrogen industry and defense hub policies.
The Chungcheong region, recognized as the hub of the Korean bio-pharmaceutical industry, accounts for approximately 60% of domestic bio-pharmaceutical production. It is also a specialized area for the battery industry, with global secondary battery companies such as LG Energy Solution, EcoPro BM, and SK Innovation. KTC is currently planning R&D projects valued at a total of 330 billion won for gene therapy enhancement and the development of a biotech health intelligent platform.
To enhance expertise in the electric vehicle battery sector, KTC is planning an investment of around 190 billion won to construct an electric vehicle-related testing facility in Eumseong-gun, Chungbuk, while expanding its existing infrastructure.
In pursuit of becoming a trade powerhouse, KTC is committed to strengthening its foundation by actively leveraging local subsidiaries, testing centers, and offices in China, Indonesia, and the UAE. They also have plans to expand their business scope to neighboring countries like Germany and Vietnam to deliver tangible export support outcomes.
KTC initiated public development assistance (ODA) in 2015, becoming the first testing and certification organization to do so. Currently, they are operating six projects with a total project cost of 11.9 billion won. Their objective is to further expand ODA activities to facilitate Korean companies' exploration of new overseas markets, contributing to the nation's long-term trade growth.
Lastly, KTC aims to enhance international cooperation through business agreements with domestic and foreign institutions and companies. In 2021, they entered into business agreements with 15 institutions across seven countries. So far, they have established a close-knit global network comprising 63 institutions in 36 countries.
For November, they have plans to pursue business agreements with Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH) and Uzbekistan Almalyk Mining Corporation. Additionally, they intend to establish partnerships with the Association of Polish Electrical Engineers, China CEPREI, and Hong Kong HKCC by the end of this year.
Sungil Ahn, the President, graduated Korea National Police University and earned a Master of Telecommunication Engineering degree from the University of Colorado Boulder in the United States. He entered the public sector through the 35th High Civil Service Examination in 1991. Over the years, he has held various positions, including Director General for Regional Economic Policy at the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy, Director General for Planning Office of Free Economic Zone, and Deputy Minister for International Trade and Legal Affairs. In January of this year, he assumed office as the head of Korea Testing and Certification institute (KTC), where he is dedicated to realizing a safe and trustworthy society through testing and certification while also enhancing support for exports.
