ETRI leads creation of International Metaverse Standardization Advisory Group

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) announced that the Metaverse Advisory Group was established at the ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 6 meeting in London, Great Britain this June following a proposal of Korea. The group is responsible for overseeing international standardization in the field of Metaverse communications and is chaired by principal researcher Hyun Wook.

The Metaverse is still gaining attention as next generation Internet technology that bridges virtual and the real world. This achievement marks an important milestone demonstrating that Korea holds a leading position in the international standardization of emerging future technologies. It is expected to have a positive impact on the worldwide deployment of related technologies and securing industrial competitiveness.

Currently, various standardization organizations are actively working to establish standards for interoperability essential for Metaverse services. Both official standardization organizations, such as ISO, IEC, and ITU-T, are developing formal standards, while industry consortiums like the Metaverse Standards Forum (MSF) led by Khronos Group, OMA3 (Open Metaverse Alliance), and IEEE SA, are pursuing de facto standardization. Both groups are competing to establish new metaverse-related working groups to secure leadership and market influence.

Korea, which has consistently contributed to the international standardization of major ICT technologies, such as telecommunications, broadcasting, and satellite, has positioned itself as a leading player in the international standardization of Metaverse communications through its newly established Metaverse Advisory Group.

The group will serve as a control tower for Metaverse communication technology standardization in ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 6, providing overall direction and strategy. Specifically, it is responsible for ▲ identifying new standardization tasks related to metaverse, ▲ setting technical standardization priorities, ▲ developing international standardization roadmaps, and ▲ establishing collaboration frameworks with other standardization organizations. Especially given the rapid pace of metaverse technology development, the group’s primary mission is to ensure that standardization efforts keep pace with technological innovation through proactive strategic planning.

The standardization initiatives set forth by this group provide Metaverse companies with a direction for technology development and help our companies stay ahead in the global marketplace. It also positions us well for future global licensing of related patents and technologies.

Hyun Wook, a principal researcher who was appointed as a Convenor, has also been working as an Associate Rapporteur in charge of metaverse and multimedia frameworks in ITU-T SG21 Q9. Leveraging his expertise in the field, he plans to lead the development and implementation of an international metaverse standardization strategy.

This was also the first meeting chaired by ETRI's principal researcher Dr. Kang Shin Gak, who was elected as SC 6 Chair at the November 2024 JTC 1 plenary meeting. Dr. Kang has been recognized for his outstanding leadership in international standardization, having served as Chairman of ▲ ITU-T Focus Group on metaverse (FG-MV), ▲ Joint Coordination Activities on Metaverse Standardization (JCA-MV), and ▲ WP4 of ITU-T SG 21.

In addition, a template for Preliminary Working Item (PWI) study report was officially adopted as a key achievement of ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 6/AHG 4 (Ad Hoc Group for Best Practices), chaired by Korea. This template, which provides guidance and document structure, will significantly improve the quality and consistency of standardization process within SC 6.

ISO/IEC JTC 1 is a joint technical committee established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) that specializes in information technology (IT) standardization and has significant global industry impact. The committee consists of advisory groups, ad hoc groups, coordination groups, working groups, and 23 subcommittees (SCs).

Among the subcommittees, SC 6 (Telecommunications and information exchange between systems) develops international standards for inter-system communication and information exchange. It covers diverse areas including near field communication (NFC), future networks, unmanned aerial vehicle communication, directory services, etc. ETRI's Principal Researcher Dr. Kang Shin Gak currently serves as Chair of this subcommittee.

In addition to the new Advisory Group, ETRI has played a leading role in the ITU-T Focus Group on metaverse (FG-MV) as its chair since 2022. Under ETRI’s leadership, FG-MV developed 52 pre-standardization deliverables. ETRI plans to continue this leadership role as a chair of the newly established ITU-T Joint Coordination Activity on Metaverse Standardization (JCA-MV) starting in 2025.

Lee Seung Yun, Assistant vice president of Standards Research Division at ETRI, stated, “As metaverse technologies expands beyond entertainment to encompass various industries, the leading of SC 6 meeting and the establishment of the Advisory Group have created a systematic foundation for Korea to lead international standardization efforts. We will actively support securing future market leadership in emerging industries through research-based standardization.”

The Metaverse, which entered the market prematurely during the pandemic, is currently facing challenges, but global companies such as Nvidia, Google, Apple, and Meta continue investing heavily in core technology. This reflects the typical pattern of emerging markets, where market eventually separates winners from losers, with survivors establishing market leadership.

The metaverse industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 46.4% from $105.4 billion in 2024 to reach $936.6 billion by 2030, according to a new report from global market research firm Grand View Research. Advances in VR and AR technology, the proliferation of digital asset trading, and the expansion of applications to industries such as gaming, education, and entertainment, as well as manufacturing, are key growth drivers.

Furthermore, the metaverse, enhanced by generative AI and enriched with diverse content, will become increasingly intelligent and autonomous, emerging as a core platform for the future Internet and a critical pillar of national and corporate competitiveness.

ETRI will continue to proactively secure international standards through ISO/IEC JTC 1 and ITU-T in core technology areas including metaverse platform interworking and virtual convergence service interoperability, while working to strengthen global competitiveness in related industries.

1) JTC 1/SC 6: A group responsible for international standardization of telecommunications and intersystem information exchanges, promoting standardization of NFC (near field communication), future networks, unmanned aerial vehicle communication protocols, directory systems, etc. Principal researcher Kang Shin Gak of Korea has been serving as the international chair since this year.

2) Advisory Group on metaverse (AG-Metaverse): An advisory group to discusses standardization strategies and methods for promoting metaverse technology and identifies future issues

3) International Standardization Meeting: ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 6

4) Convenor: A group leader who runs the operations and meetings of a working group (WG) that creates an International Standard and is responsible for overseeing and managing the projects assigned to the WG

5) Rapporteur: an ITU-T expert responsible for studying specific Questions and developing Recommendations. They provide technical advice, moderate discussions, and coordinate with related groups while requiring organizational support.

6) SC 6 Chair: The Chair of the technical subcommittee SC 6 of ISO/IEC JTC 1

7) Focus Groups on metaverse (FG-MV): A special group for pre-standardization work in the metaverse, open to experts from around the world who are not ITU members. From December 2022 to June 2024, Kang Shin Gak, a principal researcher at Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, Korea, served as the chair and developed a total of 52 metaverse pre-standardization documents and concluded the activities.

8) Joint Coordination Activity on Metaverse Standardization (JCA-MV): A group that coordinates ITU-T’s metaverse standardization activities and conducts global standardization cooperation activities with external standards groups. At the ITU-T Telecommunications Standards Advisory Group (TSAG) meeting held in May 2025, JCA-MV was newly established chaired by Dr. Kang Shin Gak.

9) ISO/IEC JTC 1: A technical committee formed by the international standards organizations ISO and IEC to promote information technology standardization, with a significant standardization influence on industry

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This work was supported by Institute of Information & communications Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT).