Jun 06, 2017

One of the world’s leading standards organizations, ASTM International, and its affiliate the Safety Equipment Institute (SEI), will host events, workshops, and high-level meetings in Seoul as part of an “Asia Roadshow” June 19-21.  As part of the events, one of ASTM International’s highest honors, the William T. Cavanaugh Memorial Award, will be presented to Dr. Kaphong Choi of Sungkyunkwan University.

Executives from ASTM International and SEI will visit both Korea-based and multinational laboratories to highlight how the region could use ASTM International’s value-added tools and services, as well as SEI certification, to drive commerce and trade.

The group will host meetings and/or events with representatives from:
•    FITI Testing and Research Institute,
•    Intertek,
•    KCL,
•    Korea Apparel Testing and Research Institute (KATRI),
•    KOTITI Testing and Research Institute, and
•    Bureau Veritas.

In Korea, ASTM International standards and laboratory services are used to support quality, safety, and market access.

“We want to build on the great partnerships we already have in Korea, and we want to build new relationships as well,” says Teresa Cendrowska, ASTM International’s vice president of global cooperation, who will lead the Road Show.  “We will show how ASTM International’s process, its products, and our new affiliate SEI can continue to help drive growth and competitiveness in fields such as petroleum, textiles, and consumer products.” The Road Show team plans to emphasize services such as ASTM International’s International Laboratory Directory and Proficiency Testing Programs, which help strengthen lab performance and ensure market acceptance.

The Road Show will also highlight how ASTM International standards are globally-accepted because they adhere to the World Trade Organization’s principles for the development of international standards.

Notably, the group will meet with top officials from the national standards body the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS), which has been a Memorandum-of-Understanding partner to ASTM International for more than a decade. The group will discuss the Korean Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (KOLAS). ASTM International has 21 additional MoUs throughout Asia.

Finally, Cendrowska will present Dr. Kaphong Choi, professor in the Graduate School of Management of Technology at Sungkyunkwan University, with the prestigious 2017 William T. Cavanaugh Memorial Award.

Dr. Choi is being honored for outstanding contributions to the knowledge and promotion of voluntary standards on a global scale, and for extraordinary leadership in the fields of standardization and comformity assessment.

A member of ASTM International since 2011, Dr. Choi previously served as president of the Korea Testing Certification (KTC), the Korean Standards Association (KSA), and administrator of KATS,among other leadership roles in industry and government. Dr. Choi holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Yonsei University in Seoul. He also holds an additional master’s degree in development economics and administration from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in the United States, and a Ph.D. in management of technology from Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul. The Cavanaugh Memorial Award honors W.T. Cavanaugh, CEO of ASTM International from 1970 to 1985, who established ASTM International as the world leader in developing and disseminating voluntary consensus standards. For more information about the events, please contact Teresa Cendrowska (). Follow the Road Show on and (#ASTMRoadshow). Nathan Osburn, tel +1.610.832.9603; Teresa Cendrowska, tel +1.610.832.9627;