Feature Story | 19-May-2025

ETRI strengthens global technological competitiveness with major achievements in international standards – from 6G to AII

36 international standards were published and over 1,215 standards-essential international standard patents were granted in 2024.

National Research Council of Science & Technology

As international standards have emerged as a key battleground for technological dominance between nations, Korean researchers achieved remarkable success in international standardization and standard-essential patents (SEPs) last year, significantly enhancing the nation’s global technological competitiveness.

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) announced that in 2024, it established 36 international standards and published 29 SEP contributions that have been reflected in global standards.

ETRI created 68 new standard-essential patents, reaching a cumulative total of 1,215 SEPs. Furthermore, ETRI secured 18 new leadership positions in standardization development organizations (SDOs), reinforcing its leadership in the global standardization landscape.

Notably, outstanding progress was made in next-generation communications. As 2024 marked the beginning of serious discussions around 6G standardization, ETRI secured 33 SEPs related to intelligent and automated 5G/6G technologies through key international bodies such as 3GPP and ATSC. The institute also submitted 14 SEP contributions to further advance its leadership in next-generation communications.

ETRI’s influence within international standards development organizations also expanded significantly. The number of leadership roles secured in 2024 doubled, increasing from 10 in the previous year to 18. In formal standardization bodies such as ITU-T and JTC 1, ETRI also secured nine chair and vice-chair positions. In addition, it assumed leadership roles in industry-driven consortia such as the O-RAN Alliance and IEEE, playing a central role in key decision-making processes. In total, ETRI now holds 88 leadership roles across various international standards development organizations.

ETRI’s standardization achievements span a wide range of strategic technology areas including next-generation communication, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, advanced robotics and manufacturing, smart mobility, quantum technologies, and the metaverse. Notably, 66% of the 65 total standardization achievements in 2024 fell under national strategic technologies, a significant increase from 47% in 2023. ETRI plans to further expand its contributions in these strategic areas.

These results are the outcome of a governance structure ETRI recently established to drive its standardization efforts. Key pillars include:

  • A strategic framework for international standardization promotion
  • A roadmap to strengthen leadership in international standard bodies
  • The identification of influential international standard technologies in strategic sectors

In particular, ETRI has created a virtuous cycle between standardization and technology commercialization. The institute identifies “high-impact international standard technologies” by comprehensively evaluating factors such as standard development, SEP acquisition, and potential for technology transfer and commercialization, and leverages them to continuously expand its standardization output.

Bang Seung Chan, President of ETRI, said, “International standardization is not just about competing technologies - it is a strategic national effort to secure global leadership. Thanks to close collaboration among the government, industry, and research institutions, Korea is now at the forefront of global standardization efforts. We will continue to enhance demand-driven standardization strategies to further strengthen our national technological competitiveness.”

Meanwhile, ETRI has secured SEPs in core technology areas such as wireless communication (LTE/WiFi), video codecs (HEVC/VVC/AV1/VP9), and broadcast communication (ATSC 3.0). Through technology transfer and commercialization, these patents have generated over KRW 150 billion (approx. USD 110 million) in licensing revenue over the past three years. ETRI’s SEPs are playing a crucial role in helping Korean companies strengthen their technological competitiveness in the global digital economy. ETRI plans to continue expanding this impact across industries to contribute to Korea’s future technological leadership.

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About Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI)

ETRI is a non-profit government-funded research institute. Since its foundation in 1976, ETRI, a global ICT research institute, has been making its immense effort to provide Korea a remarkable growth in the field of ICT industry. ETRI delivers Korea as one of the top ICT nations in the World, by unceasingly developing world’s first and best technologies.

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