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is a friendly economic time.

Reporter Han Ji-yeon is here.

If you try to charge electronic products like this, there is a charging port.

However, they were all a little different, but from now on they will be unified into one?



<Reporter>



Yes, it is unified as USB-C type.



The National Institute of Technology and Standards has been promoting a national standard that integrates connector shape, power supply, and data transmission into type C. It will be enacted within the next month as soon as the standard meeting procedure is completed at the beginning of next month.



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In the past, small electronic products such as mobile phones, tablet PCs, and portable speakers have various connection terminals and communication methods, so there have been many times when it was inconvenient to use.



If you keep several cables together, you may get confused about what kind of cable these are, and whether they are compatible with each other, and eventually throw them away.



This is to reduce consumer inconvenience and secure industrial competitiveness. Legislation will also be promoted.



The amendment to be proposed next month contains the content that the Minister of Science and Technology will be able to set technical standards for domestic portable electronic devices.



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I think most of you are familiar with type C, but just in case, this is what it is.

Samsung mobile phones that use the Android operating system, the terminals used by those who use them, and that are unified.

Can you understand that?

But you say that this is the atmosphere of unifying C-terminal and C-type chargers not only in Korea but also around the world?



<Reporter>



Yes, this movement started first in the European Union, and the European Parliament passed a bill on the 4th on the 4th to unify electronic device chargers into USB-C type from 2024.



Brazil and India are also moving towards unifying charging terminals.

In the United States, Democrats have also reported that senators have called for the Commerce Department to introduce the standard.



This kind of move around the world means that the convenience of consumers is increased first. Instead of buying multiple chargers, you can use one charger.



In the EU, it was expected to have an effect of saving 355 billion won.

It also helps to protect the environment.



More than 500 million chargers are released in Europe every year, and the amount of electronic waste reaches a maximum of 13,000 tons.



This atmosphere seems to have a big impact on the electronic device market, and many devices, including Android, have already adopted Type C.



Samsung Electronics is planning to expand the items to which Type C is applied in the future.

LG Electronics also plans to expand to other portable devices, following laptops and earphones.



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But right now, "Uh, what should I do?"

I think there are some of you who would like to think that way.

What about Apple users?



<Reporter>



Apple has been using its own standard 'Lightning' terminal, and since the iPhone 5 released in 2012, it has adhered to this policy.



Recently, as Type-C has become the de facto charging standard, Apple has also adopted Type-C for some products.



Innovation will be hindered, and e-waste will increase due to the need to buy a new charger.



According to Apple expert Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst at Apple, the iPhone released next year will be equipped with a Type-C charging method, but there are also claims that Apple will eventually switch to a wireless charging product without a charging port.



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But, I have a question for you.

What Apple insisted on would stifle innovation.

So, if we unify the C type.

But what does this mean? 



<Reporter>



Yes, the original standard was voluntarily agreed upon by the industry or international standardization organizations, but the state intervened in this.



However, what does it have to do with innovation? If you look at the charging terminal as an example, when the Lightning terminal in the iPhone 5 first came out in 2012, it drew attention because it was smaller than other terminals and did not need to distinguish between the front and back when connecting to a device.



After that, in 2014, the USB, which was affected by this, was also improved to type C, which does not distinguish between the front and the back.



Therefore, there are concerns that 'regulations' at the national level could prevent such innovation.