KISTI Obtains Korea's First Core Trust Seal International Certification
- KISTI anticipates systematic management and ecosystem development for national research data -

 The Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI, President Kim Jae-soo) announced that it has obtained the Core Trust Seal (CTS) certification, marking the first time in Korea that a research data repository has been accredited for its reliability.

 The CTS certification, issued jointly by the World Data System (WDS) under the International Science Council (ISC) and the Data Seal of Approval (DSA), guarantees that a repository is a “trustworthy research data repository.” The certification ensures that the research data repository adheres to high standards of reliability and management.

 CTS certification evaluates the reliability of a research data repository’s systematic management policies and systems. Globally, only 107 research data repositories (out of more than 3,000 listed on the re3data^* repository search site) have obtained the CTS certification. The certification process involves assessing 16 key criteria, which are prerequisites for a research data repository, including the repository’s stability, mission appropriateness, technical and organizational infrastructure, data preservation, quality, access, licensing, search, citation, and evaluation. Each criterion must be met for the certification to be granted.

   * research data search engine

 The KISTI DataON platform, which recently received the CTS certification, is a national research data platform that supports data-driven research activities such as the collection, storage, search, analysis, and utilization of research data. Since its launch in January 2020, DataON has provided research data repositories to domestic and international institutions, currently securing approximately 1.92 million research datasets for use by researchers. DataON supports individual researchers, project teams upon project completion, and researchers submitting to data journals by helping them register research data that they may find difficult to preserve. Additionally, with the legislative push for the 「National Research Data Management and Utilization Promotion Act」, the importance of DataON is expected to grow.

 KISTI President Kim Jae-soo stated, “With the first-ever CTS certification in Korea, KISTI is expected to play a leading role in establishing a national research data management system, while building the necessary infrastructure and ecosystem for research data management.” He also added, “Through DataON, KISTI plans to share and disseminate research data management expertise with government-funded research institutions, universities, and national research institutes in the future.”