The government will provide about 3 billion won to support the development of de facto standards in advanced industries such as semiconductors. A de facto standard is not a standard accredited by an international body but one that corporations voluntarily develop to match market demand and technological change. If Korea's technology is listed as a de facto standard before an accredited standard is adopted, it may later become an accredited standard and secure a lead in the standards market.
The National Institute of Technology and Standards under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources said on the 29th that it held the "2026 de facto standardization forum kickoff briefing and strategy meeting" and decided to invest 2.58 billion won out of this year's new 8.6 billion won budget for the "standards national standard technology advancement project" in developing de facto standards.
The institute is supporting adoption of Korean corporations' technologies as de facto standards in advanced sectors such as artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, displays, secondary batteries, future vehicles, future ships, robots, and nuclear power.
National Institute of Technology and Standards head Kim Dae-ja said, "De facto standards swiftly reflect market needs in line with the pace of technological change," adding, "We will continue to expand support for developing the de facto standards that our corporations need to lead advanced industries."