Is China trying to control Hangul typing technology?

The Grand National Party reacted in horror to a report that China may be trying to create a standardized Korean-language typing system for mobile devices, saying yesterday it will encourage the government to make Korea’s standard recognized worldwide.

Kim Moo-sung, floor leader for the ruling GNP, said Korea’s standard should be universal because it is “the motherland of Hangul.”

The GNP said it will lobby government offices to halt a Chinese usurpation of Korean language technology.

“There’s no standardized Korean-language inputting system available for cell phones because manufacturers use their own typing systems, and consumers suffer a grave inconvenience,” Kim said in a meeting with GNP officials yesterday. “If the [news report] turns out to be true, the government must push for creating a standardized Korean-language typing system within the legal boundaries,” Kim added.

“Korea’s electronics industry must work together to come up with a standardized system for mobile gadgets used in other countries,” he said.

An electronics trade publication reported Monday that China planned to create a Korean inputting system. A language association representing Korean language experts in China is creating the standard at the request of the Beijing government and will complete it by the end of this year, the report said.

If the Chinese standard gets approval from the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), critics warned that Korean manufacturers will be forced to adopt the Chinese system.

The Geneva-based IEC sets standards for electrical and electronic industries.

Huh Kyung of the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards under the Ministry of Knowledge Economy told the JoongAng Ilbo Wednesday that Chinese officials attending an IEC meeting in Seattle this month flatly denied the alarming speculation.

“The delegates swore they will consult with the Korean government if China plans to make one,” Huh said.

By Kim Mi-ju [mijukim@joongang.co.kr]