Kiwa Korea Issues Korea’s First ISO 34505 Certification to JIAT
Strengthening autonomous transport testing and validation to support global market access for the autonomous driving industry
Kiwa Korea has issued Korea’s first ISO 34505 certification to the Jeonbuk Institute of Automotive Technology (JIAT) for its system for validating and ensuring the performance of autonomous freight transport (automated driving) technologies and demonstrating autonomous transport services. This certification is expected to provide an important opportunity to objectively assess Korea’s autonomous transport testing and validation framework against international standards and further enhance international confidence in Korea’s technologies and demonstration infrastructure.
This certification is significant because it confirms, against international standards, the reliability of the testing and validation environment and management system for autonomous transport and autonomous driving systems. In particular, the availability of a framework for scenario-based testing, performance evaluation, and safety validation of autonomous commercial vehicles and automated transport systems in real-road environments is expected to help advance the testing and validation capabilities of Korea’s autonomous driving industry.
Located in Saemangeum, JIAT’s autonomous transport demonstration testbed provides a real-world environment for testing and validating autonomous transport systems, including in industrial complexes and logistics routes. The ISO 34505 certification confirmed that systematic validation can be conducted through representative and critical driving scenarios, performance evaluation based on the Operational Design Domain (ODD), and the collection of safety evidence using test results, logs, and performance indicators.
Establishing a Trusted Testing and Validation Environment for Autonomous Transport
Through this certification, Kiwa Korea has supported JIAT in positioning its testing and validation environment as a reliable platform for autonomous driving system development and for addressing international certification and regulatory requirements, going beyond a conventional test facility. This is intended to help Korean companies consider international requirements from the development stage and prepare for global market entry using objective testing and validation data.
The systematic validation process based on ISO 34505 follows a sequence of scenario definition → performance evaluation → generation of safety evidence → independent validation, enabling structured management of validation data, including test results and performance indicators. This allows autonomous transport technology developers to verify system performance under real operating conditions and obtain objective evidence to support international certification and regulatory compliance.
Based on Kiwa Korea’s independent assessment and certification expertise, this ISO 34505 certification is expected to play an important role in communicating the international reliability of Korea’s autonomous transport technologies and testing and validation environments, while expanding global cooperation among Korean companies and research institutions.
A Gateway to Global Markets for Korea’s Autonomous Driving Industry
One of the key expected benefits of this certification is that companies in Korea’s autonomous transport sector can now conduct testing and validation domestically while taking international requirements into account. This is expected to reduce the industry’s reliance on overseas testing and validation and help companies implement systematic validation from the early stages of development with global market entry in mind.
Automotive manufacturers, Tier-1 suppliers, and autonomous transport and logistics solution developers seeking to enter global markets, including Europe, need to verify system performance and safety in real operating environments and prepare for international certification and regulatory requirements from the development stage. JIAT’s ISO 34505-certified testbed can provide these companies with a basis for conducting validation in conditions close to actual operation and preparing for global market entry.
JIAT’s ISO 34505-certified testbed can validate a wide range of scenarios in real operating environments, including industrial complexes, logistics routes, and mixed traffic. By linking the ODD, performance, and safety evidence, it can support preparation for entry into international markets. Expanding development and validation activities in Korea is also expected to help reduce the time and cost burdens associated with relying solely on overseas testing.
An Autonomous Transport Collaboration Platform Connecting Europe and Asia
JIAT expects this certification to serve as a stepping stone toward developing beyond Korea’s autonomous transport industry into a collaborative testing and validation platform connecting Europe and Asia.
Conducting testing and validation on real roads in Korea makes it possible to prepare for development and certification in line with international requirements. This can help shorten the development and certification preparation periods for autonomous transport solutions while expanding validation coverage across diverse operating conditions.
Furthermore, this certification is expected to provide an important starting point for joint research and business cooperation between Korean and international companies and research institutions, and for developing a new cooperation model that connects European regulatory and certification requirements with Asia’s demonstration infrastructure. It is also expected to help extend the demonstration experience and validation capabilities accumulated in Korea to overseas markets and global partnerships.