STANDARDS FOR DESIGNATION OF FOREIGN AGENCIES FOR INSPECTION OF STANDARDS AND QUALITY OF TIMBER PRODUCTS

The Korea Forest Service Public Notification No. 2017-109, ______, 2017

Article 1 (Purpose)

The purpose of this Public Notification is to improve efficiency of affairs related to the inspection of wood products, etc., by prescribing necessary matters concerning the standards for designation, etc., of a foreign agency for the inspection of standards and quality of wood products (hereinafter referred to as "foreign inspection agency"), delegated for enactment by the Minister of the Korea Forest Service pursuant to Article 19 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Sustainable Use of Woods.

Article 2 (Definitions)

The terms used in this Public Notification shall be defined as follows:

1. The term "foreign inspection agency" means a public inspection agency (including its branch) established or inspection agency accredited by the government including local government of an exporting country;

2. The term "in-situ evaluation of inspection capacity" means the measurement and evaluation of inspection capacity conducted using standard samples, to ensure the reliability and accuracy of inspection facilities, analytical technologies, etc., when authorizing as a foreign inspection agency;

Article 3 (Application for Designation of Inspection Agencies, etc.)

(1) An applicant who intends to be designated as a foreign inspection agency shall submit an application for designation of a foreign inspection agency in attached Form 1 (including an application in electronic form) to the Minister of the Korea Forest Service, along with the following documents (including electronic documents). In such cases, the application may be submitted through the government of the applicant's country or directly by the applicant:

1. General Information (functions, history of the institute, organizational charts, etc.);

2. Inspection records (in recent three years of the items of wood products, for which the applicant intends to be designated as an inspection agency);

3. A list of inspection equipment (in attached Table 1: Provided, That where the owner of inspection equipment is not the applicant, photocopies of the relevant evidential documents);

4. Lay-out of office and laboratory (in attached Table 2);

5. Information on inspection personnel (including work experiences of each inspector);

6. Where the government of the applicant's country has evaluated the applicant's inspection capacity, or where the applicant's inspection capacity has been evaluated during the applicant's participation in a program for verification of capacity for international inspections, photocopies of the relevant evidential documents;

7. Notwithstanding the requirements prescribed in subparagraphs 1 through 5, a public inspection agency (including its branch) established, or inspection agency accredited, by the government or local government of an exporting country, may follow the designation requirements of the exporting country.

(2) To verify the details of application and required documents submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) and inspection capacity, the Minister of the Korea Forest Service shall in-situ inspect a foreign agency for the inspection of standards and quality of wood products in accordance with the criteria for allocating points specified in attached Table 3, and may in-situ inspect the inspection capacity, if necessary: Provided, That where the inspection facilities, inspection capacity, etc., are found sufficient in examining the documents forth in subparagraphs of paragraph (1), the in-situ inspection may be omitted.

(3) Where it is intended to in-situ inspect pursuant to paragraph (2), the inspection date, inspectors, details of inspection, etc., shall be notified to the applicant by no later than one month before conducting the in-situ inspection: Provided, That such notification may be given by no later than seven days prior to the in-situ inspection in an emergency or in extenuating circumstances.

(4) After examining the findings of an in-situ inspection, etc., if no reason exists for a foreign inspection agency to be disqualified, the Minister of the Korea Forest Service shall notify the fact of designation to the inspection agency which has submitted the application, and publicly announce on the website including the name and location of the inspection agency; wood products subject to inspection; designation date of the inspection agency; and related matters.

Article 4 (Notice of Inspection Results, etc.)

(1) Where a foreign inspection agency inspects any wood product, it shall be a principle that such inspection shall comply with the criteria for standards and quality or criteria for quality certification of wood products publicly notified by the President of the National Institute of Forest Science: Provided, That where the inspection is conducted according to any other inspection method, it shall indicate the validity of the relevant inspection method.

(2) A notice of inspection results issued by a foreign inspection agency, shall be the original issued in enforcement regulations of article 15(2) of the enforcement decree of the act on the sustainable use of woods

(3) An inspection certificate issued by a foreign inspection agency shall be issued in attached Form 2, and the original thereof shall be submitted.

(4) Where a notice of inspection results prescribed in paragraph (2) or an inspection certificate prescribed in paragraph (3), submitted by an importer, is confirmed as satisfying the requirements prescribed in paragraph (1), the Minister of the Korea Forest Service may accept it in lieu of conducting an in-depth inspection of the relevant inspection items.

(5) If a notice of inspection results or an inspection certificate issued under paragraph (2) or (3), falls under any of the following cases, Minister of the Korea Forest Service shall not deem it appropriate:

1. Where the relevant wood product is deemed likely to cause safety hazards;

2. Where no original of a notice of inspection results is submitted;

3. Where an inspection is not conducted according to the inspection method referred to in paragraph (1), or where the submitted inspection method has not been verified.

Article 5 (Evaluation of Inspection Capacity, etc.)

(1) Where the Minister of the Korea Forest Service designates a foreign inspection agency pursuant to Article 3 (4), he/she shall evaluate the inspection capacity of the relevant agency concerning its inspection facilities, analytical technologies, etc., by in-situ inspecting at least once every three years from the date of the previous in-situ inspection (the date of the first in-situ inspection shall be deemed the date the foreign inspection agency was authorized): Provided, That where documents verifying the inspection capacity issued by the government of the applicant's country or documents verifying the inspection capacity evaluated during the applicant's participation in a program for verification of capacity for international inspections are submitted, the in-situ inspection documents may be examined in lieu of the in-situ inspection.

(2) Where it is intended to in-situ inspect pursuant to paragraph (1), the inspection date, inspectors, details of inspection, etc., shall be notified to the relevant foreign inspection agency by no later than one month prior to the in-situ inspection: Provided, That such notification may be given by no later than seven days prior to the in-situ inspection in an emergency or in extenuating circumstances.

(3) The Minister of the Korea Forest Service may have related public officials access the office or places of inspections, or related place of a designated foreign inspection agency and inspect facilities or inspect by inspectors or conduct the relevant inspections, or review books, documents, etc., including the related daily record of inspections, as necessary.

Article 6 (Composition of Evaluation Team and Evaluation Criteria)

(1) For the purposes of an in-situ inspection prescribed in Article 3 (2), the Minister of the Korea Forest Service shall organize an evaluation team comprised of at least three persons including experts in the relevant field.

(2) The evaluation team will evaluate by the attached table 3, referred to in paragraph (1). Where at least two items are applied for inspection, the findings of evaluation of every item for inspection shall be appropriate.

(3) Where a reapplication for designation is filed due to failure to meet the requirements prescribed in paragraph (2), the evaluation of items to which points are allocated may be exempted if they were found appropriate, for up to one year from the date of notification of such findings.

Article 7 (Approval of Amendments in Designated Matters, etc.)

(1) Where any of the following amendments is made, the foreign inspection agency shall draft details of the amendment referred to in attached Form 3 (including an electronic document), report them immediately to the Minister of the Korea Forest Service, and obtain approval from him/her:

1. Where any matter authorized by the government of the exporting country is amended;

2. Where any wood product subject to inspection, designated by the Minister of the Korea Forest Service, is amended;

3. Where the location or name of the foreign inspection agency, is amended;

4. Where the representative of the foreign inspection agency or a person authorized to sign inspection certificates or notices of inspection results, is replaced.

(2) The Minister of the Korea Forest Service shall grant an approval as requested by an application for approval of amendment filed under paragraph (1), if no reason for disqualification exists in the examination of documents or in-situ inspection.

Article 8 (Revocation of Designation, etc.)

(1) In any of the following cases, the Minister of the Korea Forest Service may revoke the authorization granted to a foreign inspection agency or order a foreign inspection agency to suspend or rectify its inspection services, fixing a period not exceeding six months.

1. Where a notice of inspection results or an inspection certificate, is issued in falsehood;

2. Where the findings of evaluation of inspection capacity issued under Article 5 (1), fail to meet the criteria for designation of a foreign inspection agency;

3. Where approval of amendment falling under any subparagraph of Article 7 (1) is not obtained from the Minister of the Korea Forest Service;

4. Other cases where obligations imposed by the Minister of the Korea Forest Service.

Article 9 (Term of Revision)

The deadline for taking such measures as revision, amending, etc. this Public Notification, in accordance with the Rules on the Issuance and Management of Directives and Established Rules (Presidential Directive No. 334), shall be every three year period(until 31 Dec. of every third year) from 1 Jan. 2018

ADDENDUM <24 Non. 2017>

This Public Notification shall enter into force on the date of six months later that its pronouncement.

[Attached Table 1]

Quality tester and analysis equipment on wood product item (Related to Article 3)

relevant products	Tester and analysis equipment	minimum amount	remarks
Sawn timber	Moisture meter	1
	Universal testing machine	1	≥ 10 ton
	Horizontal deformation test set	1
	Optical microscope	1	Magnification: x40∼x400
Preservative treated wood	Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy or Inductively Coupled Plasma Spectrometer	1	ACQ, CCFZ, AAC, CCB, CUAZ, CuHDO, NCU, NZN, heavy metal analysis
	Liquid Chromatography-mass spectrometer (LCMS)	1	ACQ, AAC, organic matter analysis
	Gas Chromatography-mass spectrometer (GCMS) or Liquid Chromatography	1	CUAZ, organic matter analysis
	Liquid Chromatography(LC)	1	CuHDO, organic matter analysis
	Spectrophotometer	1	CCB, BB, organic matter analysis
	Gas Chromatography(GC)	1	IPBC, IPBCP, organic matter analysis
	Moisture meter	1
Glued laminated timber	Bending stiffness test set	1
	Universal testing machine	1	≥ 20 ton
	Grading machine	1
	Horizontal deformation test set	1
	Optical microscope	1	Magnification: x40∼x400
Plywood/Fiberboard/Particleboard/Flooring Board	Bending stiffness test set	1
	Universal testing machine	1	≥ 1 ton
	UV-vis spectrophotometer	1
	Water distilling apparatus	1
Wood Pellet/ Wood Chip/ Wood Briquette/Agglomerated wood charcoal /Wood Charcoal	Durability tester	1	CEN/TS 15210-1
	Heating furnace	1	operating temperature 1,000 ℃
	Calorimeter	1
	Elemental analyzer	1
	Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy or Inductively Coupled Plasma Spectrometer	1
	Ion Chromatography	1

*note : Absolutely, inspection institute does not have to be the owner of equipment. It can be borrowed, rented, hired, or provided by other parties(manufacturer or installer of equipment). But, the responsibility of equipment suitability used for inspection is completely the responsibility of inspection institute regardless of ownership.

[Attached Table 2]

Laboratory Condition and Standard (Related to Article 3)

Classification	Standard Condition and Criteria		Remarks
Physical Test Laboratory	Environmental Condition	(20±2) ℃, (66±5) % RH	· The environmental condition standard of a normal state according to KS F 2201(General Principles to Test Timber) · A separate storage and disposal of waste · Possibility to test some items including full-scale retest in a separate place · Dividing Balance Room Separately.
	Laboratory prerequisite Facility and Equipment	Air Conditioned Facility, Ventilation System, (Note 1) Qualification Tester and Analysis Equipment by Item
Chemical Test Laboratory	Environmental Condition	(20±2) ℃, (66±5) % RH	· The environmental condition standard of a normal state according to KS F 2201(General Principles to Test Timber) · Preprocessing Room, Instrumental Analysis Room, Formaldehyde Emission Analysis Room Separation · A separate storage and disposal of waste
	Laboratory prerequisite Facility and Equipment	Air Conditioned Facility, Fume Hood, Fire Safety Facility, Ventilation System, (Note 1) Qualification Tester and Analysis Equipment by Item

*note : Even though the standard condition and criteria do not meet the requirement, the evaluation team may recognize the laboratory condition as appropriate considering on the properties of relevant wood products, on site condition or scale of the laboratory

[Attached Table 3]

Criteria of on site for foreign Inspection Agency of wood products (Related to Article 2)

Field Survey Evaluation Standard	Score	Remarks
Total Score	100
Ⅰ. General current situation including facility and workforce	50
1. Contents about the general current situation	25
A. Whether or not to have the layout drawing of other facilities including laboratory, equipment, and so on	(5)
B. Whether or not to have laboratories or their suitability	○/Ｘ	compulsory
C. Contents about facility(Complying with laboratory condition and standard of attached table 2) - The propriety of ventilation, drainage, waste water treatment facility - The propriety of laboratory environment management - The propriety of laboratory access and its procedure	(5)
D. Contents about sample storage - Proper storage condition maintenance and management - The propriety and management of sample received and disposal procedure - The propriety of improper sample storage (including whether or not to designate a separate place)	(5)
E. Contents about laboratory safety management - Whether or not to follow the separation and discharge of waste used for laboratory test - Safety management of gas container connected with measurement equipment - Whether or not to have protective gear for inspection workforce	(10)
2. Contents about facility and equipment	10
A..The current situation of equipment needed for dimension․quality test and whether or not to have the equipment(Complying with attached form 1 for the needed equipment by item)	○/Ｘ	compulsory
B. Equipment Maintenance and Management Situation - Whether or not to have maintenance and management regulation for test equipment - Whether maintenance and management procedure are proper - Whether or not to follow the screening/correction of related test equipment	(10)
3. Contents about workforce to carry out dimension․quality test	15
A. whether or not to have proper workforce to carry out inspecting work	○/Ｘ	compulsory
B. whether or not to manage workforce to carry out inspecting work - Whether or not to form a task force - Whether or not to manage workforce(organization chart and division of works)	(5)
C. Contents about the education and management of workforce to carry out inspecting work - Whether inspecting workforce participates in inspecting work depending on the division of works - Whether it manages workforce to have proper inspecting ability(license, education training and career, education plan, education related materials)	(10)
Ⅱ. Inspection Work Management of Dimension․Quality Inspection Operational Rule	50
1. Contents about the propriety of Dimension․Quality Inspection Operational Rule	40
A. Contents about document writing and management - Whether or not to have operational rules of foreign inspection institute - Whether or not to have inspection related document (the current situation to have the necessary equipment and management contents by item, quality standard and test method by item, test result, inspection workforce current situation)	(20)
B. Contents about Dimension․Quality Inspection Workforce - Whether or not to specify the things to observe for the prevention of illegal activities of inspection workforce in operational rules - Whether or not to educate related things to be observed	(10)
C. whether or not to maintain inspection related document properly - Whether or not to have documents (Quality standard by item, test method, test result, test journal, and so on) - Whether or not to write or keep inspection result notice	(5)
D. Contents about inspection result report	(5)
2. Contents about inspection work	10
A. whether or not to have Standard Operating Procedure(SOP) by analysis item and the propriety of content	(5)
B. whether or not to have Standard Operating Procedure(SOP) by analysis item and the propriety of content about analysis equipment - Whether or not to have, write, and manage equipment related register - Whether or not to have the propriety of contents about standard receipt·storage·treatment and manage them	(5)

[Attached Form 1]

( page 1)

application for designation of a foreign inspection agency			Processing time
			90Days
Applicant		Tel(E-mail)
Name of laboratory		FAX
Place of facility
Inspecting items	1. Sawn timber ( ) 2. Preservative treated wood ( ) 3. Fire retardant treated wood ( ) 4. Wood Plastic Composites ( ) 5. Glulam ( ) 6. Plywood ( ) 7. Particleboard ( ) 8. Fiberboard ( ) 9. Oriented Strand Board ( ) 10. Flooring Board ( ) 11. Wood Pellets ( ) 12. Wood Chips ( ) 13. Wood Briquettes ( ) 14. Agglomerated wood charcoal ( ) 15. Charcoal ( )
I hereby apply for designation of foreign quality inspection institute in accordance with article 3 of the provisions on the designation of foreign quality inspection institute. Date Applicant Signature or seal To Minister of the Korea Forest Service

( page 2)

○ Documents required for application 1. General Information (functions, history of the institute, organizational charts, etc.) 2. Inspecting records (Current three-year records of inspecting items of wood products that the institute is seeking to get designated. The records must be prepared in separate categories of wood products.) 3. A list of major inspecting equipment (English name, specification, number, etc.) 4. Lay-out of office and laboratory 5. Institute personnel information (including past work experiences of inspector) 6. For the institute designated by the government, documents of such designation are needed (for institutes under direct operation of the government, such documents are not necessary). 7. A copy of documents demonstrating participation in proficiency inspecting programs								Application fee
								None
Procedure
Applicant			Responsible division
			Timber Industry Division, Ministry of the Korea Forest Service
	Application					Receive documents
						↓
						Review documents
						↓
						Survey & Evaluation (on site)
						↓
						Evaluation & Decision
	Issue of certificate
						↓
						Notification

[Attached Form 2]                                       (page 1)

Inspecting Certificate
Issue No.				Date of receipt
Country of inspection institute				Date of inspecting
Client	Name			Company name
	Address (Place of facility)
	Tel. No. / FAX No.
Importer	Name			Company name
	Address (Place of facility)
	Tel. No. / FAX No.
	Product name			Import quantity		Packing unit
Port/airport of loading				Transportation method
Sample name (Product name)				Date of production

(page 2)

Sampling location		Sampling date
Inspection results
Remarks
This is to certify that the above statements are true. Address of Inspection Institute: Date Representative of Inspection Institute: (Signature)

[Attached Form 3]

Application for Approval of Changes in Details of Designation			Processing time
			45 Days
Name of institute
Certificate No.
Details of change(s)
Category	Details you wish to change	Proposed change(s)
① Particulars designated by the government of an exporting country
② Designated inspecting items
③ Name or address of institute
④ Representative (Authorized signatory)
Reason(s) for making the change(s)
I hereby apply for approval of changes in details of designation in accordance with article 7 of the provisions on the designation of foreign quality inspection institute. Date Applicant: Signature (Seal) To Minister of the Korea Forest Service
○ Documents required (as necessary) 1. A document proving that the institute has been designated by the government 2. Lay-out of new facilities (only applicable to those applying for change of address) 3. Signature of successor representative or authorized signatory