VR simulators can be evaluated based on component combinations
Industrial electric welding machines, excluded from conformity assessment
Evaluation of domestic aircraft radio equipment replaced by international certification


The Ministry of Science and ICT is amending the 'Notice on Conformity Assessment of Broadcasting and Telecommunications Equipment, etc.' to resolve difficulties related to conformity assessment in the industry, and it will take effect on the 28th.

Conformity assessment is a system under which manufacturers, sellers, or importers of broadcasting and telecommunications equipment verify compliance with technical standards in accordance with Article 58-2 of the Radio Waves Act before distributing them in the market, thereby obtaining radio certification or registration. The key contents of this amendment include: ▲ improvements to the conformity assessment testing and registration procedures for large and fixed-type equipment; ▲ deregulation of industrial electric welding machines used in restricted areas; and ▲ the realistic implementation of the submission of test reports for wireless devices installed in domestically produced aircraft.

First, for separable modular 'large, fixed-type devices,' testing was made possible by assembling only the components separately instead of the finished product. In 2019, the Ministry of Science and ICT granted a sandbox demonstration exemption to allow virtual reality (VR) motion simulators to demonstrate related services without undergoing conformity assessment, provided that concerns regarding radio interference are minimized.

With the special demonstration period set to end on July 17, a conformity assessment must be conducted for the official product to be released. However, under existing regulations, testing was required only for finished products, which presented a limitation in testing large-scale VR motion simulators that undergo frequent structural changes. Therefore, it is expected that this revision will resolve these obstacles.

Next, industrial high-capacity (over 10kVA) electric welding machines, which are primarily used in factories or construction sites rather than for household use, were excluded from the conformity assessment list, considering that they are used by skilled professionals in limited locations. An official from the Ministry of Science and ICT explained that the deregulation of industrial high-capacity electric welding machines was based on foreign precedents and international standards.

Finally, until now, wireless devices installed in domestically produced aircraft have inevitably been processed through provisional certification because domestic testing institutions were unable to conduct tests. Going forward, devices that have obtained aviation certifications compliant with international standards, such as the U.S. FAA TSO certification, will be able to proceed with the certification process in Korea without separate testing, provided they possess the test reports submitted during the certification process in the respective country. As a result, the required time is expected to be shortened from 90 days to 5 days.

Detailed information on the revision of the notice can be found at the National Radio Research Institute's Legal Information Archive .