Meaning
Regulatory provisions under South Korea’s Radio Waves Act establish the legal framework for the conformity assessment of broadcasting and communications equipment. This statutory clause, known as article 58-2, governs the mandatory evaluation of electromagnetic compatibility and radio frequency performance before devices enter the South Korean market. It divides hardware into categories of certification or registration depending on the risk of electromagnetic interference.
Hardware manufacturers must secure a certificate of conformity from the national research agency before distribution. The provision applies to both domestically produced goods and imported telecommunications hardware, ensuring that all devices operating in the domestic wireless spectrum meet national security and safety thresholds.
Compliance Procedure
Evaluation steps require submitting the device to a designated testing laboratory to verify compliance with technical standards. If the hardware operates within designated radio frequencies, article 58-2 demands detailed documentation on circuit design and antenna gain. Testing houses output a certified report that the importer files with the national agency.
This filing creates a public record of conformity.
Certification Protocol
Specific testing routines measure spurious emissions and electromagnetic vulnerability under diverse thermal environments. While registration applies to lower-risk devices, article 58-2 mandates full certification for high-risk transmitters such as cellular base stations and maritime beacons. The national body reviews the laboratory reports to ensure that no band leakage occurs during operational spikes.
Each approved device receives a unique identification number that must be permanently displayed on the product label.
Enforcement Action
Failure to maintain the certified parameters triggers immediate administrative penalties or the revocation of market access. The monitoring authority conducts marketplace audits where randomly selected retail units are subjected to laboratory tests. When a unit fails to match the original filing, article 58-2 empowers the ministry to ban imports of that model and demand a recall of sold stock.
This post-market surveillance protects the spectrum from unlicensed transmitters.
