Designation Requirements for the Republic of Korea

Standards Available for Recognition

• The technical and administrative requirements that are available for recognition are limited to those listed in the following Annex I (December 29, 2023). The versions of the requirements posted in Annex I are updated frequently by RRA. CABs must check for the most up-to-date versions posted at the National Law Information Center and other web pages noted below and include the most recent versions on the Scope of Accreditation (ISO/IEC 17025). See links below:
  
  •Administrative provision
  https://www.rra.go.kr/ko/reference/lawList.do?lw_type=1
  
  •Enforcement Decree of MSIT for Radio Equipment
  http://www.law.go.kr/lsSc.do?tabMenuId=tab18&query=%EB%AC%B4%EC%84%A0%EC%84%A4%EB%B9%84
  
  •Technical Requirements of RRA for Radio(SAR) Equipment
  https://www.rra.go.kr/ko/reference/lawList.do?lw_type=3
  
  
  •Technical Requirements for Telecommunications Terminal Equipment
  https://www.rra.go.kr/ko/reference/lawList.do?lw_type=2
  
  •EMC Test Methods (KN standards)
  https://www.rra.go.kr/ko/reference/lawList.do?lw_type=6
  
  •KS standards
  https://www.rra.go.kr/ko/reference/kcsList.do

General Measurement Distances

• The following are the required measurement distances for radiated emissions:
  •Up to 1 GHz: measurement distance required is 10 m.
  •1 to 6 GHz: measurement distance required is 3 m.
  
  The exact measurement distance for radiated emissions has in KN standards(EMC test methods).

Mandatory Calibration Intervals

• Test laboratories must meet the equipment maximum calibration intervals noted below regardless of manufacturer's recommendations.
  
  Based on “Notice on Designation and management of Testing Laboratories for Information and Communication Equipment“ MSIT Public Notification 2019-95 (in Korean) Chapter 4 (Section 14) and in the table of appendix 2.

Accredited Testing Laboratory Program Role

• Based on “Notice on Designation and Management of Testing Laboratories for Broadcasting and Communications Equipment(MSIT Public Notification 2019-95, Dec 5, 2019)” Korean only.
  https://www.rra.go.kr/ko/reference/lawList_view.do?lw_seq=26&lw_type=1&searchCon=lw_name&lw_select=ALL&lw_model=&searchTxt=

Requirements for Certification and testing of Broadcasting and Communications Equipment

• Based on “Notice on Conformity Assessment of Broadcasting and Communications Equipment(MSIT Public Notification 2019-95, Dec 5, 2019)”Korean only.
  https://www.rra.go.kr/ko/reference/lawList_view.do?lw_seq=6&lw_type=1&searchCon=lw_name&lw_select=ALL&lw_model=&searchTxt=

Subcontracting of Test Methods Recognized by RRA

• Recognized test labs may only subcontract testing to other test labs that are also RRA recognized for the specific standards/test methods. RRA will not accept test reports that include any test data that was generated by a test lab that is not recognized by RRA.
  

Introduction of MRA

• The Mutual Recognition Agreements for conformity assessment are government-to-government to streamline the Conformity Assessment Procedures for a wide range of telecommunications and telecommunications-related equipment and thereby to facilitate trade among the Parties. It provides for the mutual recognition by the importing Parties of Conformity Assessment Bodies and mutual acceptance of the results of testing and equipment certification procedures undertaken by those bodies in assessing conformity of equipment to the importing Parties' own Technical Regulations. "Phase I Procedures for Mutual Recognition of Testing Laboratories As Conformity Assessment Bodies and Mutual Acceptance of Test Reports" (Phase I Procedures). "Phase II Procedures for Mutual Recognition of Certification Bodies as Conformity Assessment Bodies and Mutual Acceptance of Equipment Certifications" (Phase II Procedures). The scope of telecommunications and telecommunications-related equipment covered is based on the regulatory requirements of each MRA Party. The technical requirements and regulations of the importing Party always apply.
  

Korea have signed MRA with USA, Canada, EU, United Kingdom, Vietnam and Chile.

General Information

Overview of MRA

• The government has defined the technical specifications that some products must observe among products available on the market in order to protect people's safety and health and the environment, and has compelled enterprises to follow them by law. The standard that must be observed with respect to the communications equipment is the technical standard of communications equipment, and the process of checking the compliance status in advance is the certification system of telecommunications equipment. The government has administered the technical standards of telecommunications equipment in terms of people's health, property protection, the integrated national backbone protection and a proper use of spectrum resources, and has checked the compliance status through the certification system. However, because such certification system of telecommunications equipment is based on the political, economic, social, cultural and technical differences among countries, each country has its own certification system of telecommunications equipment with different procedures and methods. Such variation in the certification systems of telecommunications equipment works as a significant trade barrier to inter-country trade. Accordingly, in order to overcome it, the Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) has been actively promoted among nations. MRA intends to vitalize inter-country trade by reducing the testing period and costs, by mutually recognizing the designated foreign conformity assessment agency's test report or certificate in trading the item subject to MRA, which means the MRA member states recognize the conformity assessment results of other member states as their conformity assessment results. The conformity assessment is to test and assess whether the product, process or service meets the requirements by Standards or Technical Regulations, and includes the test, inspection, certification and marking.

Overview of APEC TEL MRA

Purposes

• APEC TEL MRA aims to facilitate the trade, increase the market accessibility, and eliminate or reduce the Non-Tariff Barrier (NTB), not to unify Standards or Technical Regulations.

Major products for APEC TEL MRA

• Wire, wireless, EMC and electric safety test of information and communications equipment

Description

• APEC TEL MRA comprises the mutual recognition of conformity assessment result (Phase 1: Test report, Phase 2: Certificate), conformity assessment agency designation (mutual designation of testing agency and certification agency) and the information exchange (each member state reveals the list of its technical regulations and grants the other state the opportunity to present an opinion). That is, the importing country accepts the test report for the product of the exporting country which has been tested according to the importing country's technical regulations, and the importing country accepts the certificate for the product of the exporting country which has been certified according to the importing country's technical regulations.

Procedures

• The designated agency of the exporting country accredits or appoints the conformity assessment institute (testing agency or certification agency) that can conduct the conformity assessment pursuant to the importing country's technical regulations. At this time, it may appoint the accreditation agency that conducts the conformity assessment agency's accreditation matters on behalf of the designated agency. Also, when it gives the importing country the list of designated accreditation agencies and the designated or accredited conformity assessment agencies, the importing country decides on the approval after assessment. The company that wants to export can go through the certification procedures in the importing country after getting the test report issued from the conformity assessment agency (testing agency) in the exporting country that has been approved by the importing country (in case of Phase 1 MRA), or can sell the product directly in the territory of the importing country (in case of Phase 2 MRA) after getting the certificate issued from the conformity assessment agency (certification agency) in the exporting country.

Test Report Standard Form

Download (August 31, 2022)

MRA Testing Laboratories

Korean CABs recognized by MRA partners VIEW ▶

CABs designated by MRA partners and recognized by Korea VIEW ▶

Testing Laboratory in EU that has been notified by EU VIEW ▶

Testing Laboratory in UK that has been notified by UK VIEW ▶

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