Joint certification from Ministry of Employment and Labor, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and Ministry of SMEs and Startups

Korens named among newly certified small and medium-sized enterprises this year

95 private-sector companies certified; accreditation valid for three years

A Korens representative poses with a certificate at the 2026 Best Human Resource Development Institution certification ceremony. [Korens]
A Korens representative poses with a certificate at the 2026 Best Human Resource Development Institution certification ceremony. [Korens]

Auto parts maker Korens has received government recognition for its talent development system, which spans recruitment, performance evaluation, employee training and career advancement. A youth training program combining on-the-job work with formal coursework was also selected as a best practice.

Korens announced Tuesday that it had obtained the 2026 Best Human Resource Development Institution certification. The company also received an encouragement award in the learning company category at the Work-Learning Parallel Program Best Practices Competition.

The Best HRD certification is jointly administered by four government ministries — the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups — and operated by the Human Resources Development Service of Korea.

The certification does not simply count the number of employee training sessions. Assessors evaluate both human resource management systems — covering recruitment, performance appraisal and compensation — and human resource development systems, including training programs and career development pathways.

Korens was listed among the newly certified small and medium-sized enterprises this year. A total of 95 private-sector companies received certification in 2026, including 19 large corporations, 56 small and medium-sized enterprises and 20 companies in the work-first, study-later program.

Certification is valid for three years. During that period, certified companies are exempt from routine labor inspections and may receive preferential points when applying for certain government support programs.

Korens focuses on strengthening employees' job competencies by linking on-site work with structured learning. The company manages its training programs through its in-house human resource development platform, PRMS, and runs job-specific on-the-job training based on the National Competency Standards framework.

For new hires in particular, Korens has run a work-learning parallel program that allows young employees to complete coursework while learning the skills needed on the production floor.

That approach earned recognition at this year's Work-Learning Parallel Program Best Practices Competition, where Korens received the encouragement award in the learning company category — the Human Resources Development Service of Korea chairman's award.

The company plans to expand its field-centered training programs and raise employees' technical and quality-related competencies. It also intends to focus on translating training outcomes into tangible gains in productivity and manufacturing quality.

As the automotive industry shifts rapidly toward electrification and software-defined vehicles, parts suppliers face growing pressure to secure specialists not only in mechanical engineering and manufacturing but also in electronics and software.

Meanwhile, Korens has been broadening its technology capabilities. In July, the company obtained A-SPICE CL1 certification — a global benchmark for automotive software development processes — through its electric vehicle refrigerant integrated driver project. The assessment covered the full controller development process, from project management and systems and software engineering to quality assurance.

A-SPICE is the standard global automakers use to evaluate the software development capabilities and quality levels of automotive suppliers. Korens plans to pursue additional certifications, including the next-level A-SPICE CL2 and international automotive functional safety standards.


kwater@heraldcorp.com