For semiconductor equipment-specific parts, rapid shipment and customs clearance will be possible without the safety certification exemption confirmation process.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's National Institute of Standards and Technology (President Lee Sang-hoon) announced on the 17th that it will exclude semiconductor equipment-specific components from safety certification in order to support the domestic semiconductor industry.

Among the current semiconductor equipment components, electrical appliances subject to safety certification are classified as industrial and other special-purpose products as stipulated in the Electrical Appliances and Consumer Goods Safety Management Act, and can be exempted from safety certification after going through the confirmation process of the Director of the Korea Product Safety Management Institute.

As of 2020, a total of 3,961 electrical appliances were exempted from safety certification for the same reason, of which 1,269 were dedicated semiconductor equipment components, accounting for approximately 32% of the total.

△Couplers for interconnection between semiconductor equipment and △insulated wires used for power supply within semiconductor equipment, which are specialized for semiconductor equipment and not sold to general consumers, are considered as semiconductor equipment-specific parts.

On the other hand, the industry has been burdened by the frequent administrative work required to receive exemption confirmation for each delivery, which requires applications for safety certification exemption and takes up to five days to receive exemption confirmation.

This is because semiconductor equipment parts are mostly demanded in small quantities and in a variety of varieties, and because semiconductor lines operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, there are many cases where urgent supply is required.

Accordingly, the National Agency for Technology and Standards is embarking on a system improvement initiative to enable product shipment and import customs clearance without safety certification exemption confirmation for semiconductor equipment-specific components through proactive administration.

To this end, semiconductor equipment-specific components are excluded from safety certification.The enforcement regulations and operational guidelines of the 'Prevention and Control Act' will be revised to address this.

Lee Sang-hoon, head of the Korea Agency for Technology and Standards, emphasized that “in order to support the domestic semiconductor industry in the face of a global semiconductor supply crisis, practical support, such as deregulation through proactive administration, is just as important as fiscal investment.”