Review article Eun-Jung Cho1, Eun Jin Lee1, Younggil Cha2,3 Nuri Lee1, Ki Ho Hong4, Hee Jin Huh5, Young Joo Cha6, Hyun Soo Kim1 1Department of Laboratory Medicine, Hallym University College of Medicine, Chuncheon, 2Molecular Diagnostic Division, Bioneer Corp., Seoul, 3College of Pharmacy, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, 4Department of Laboratory Medicine, Seoul Medical Center, Seoul, 5Department of Laboratory Medicine, Dongguk University College of Medicine, Goyang, 6Department of Laboratory Medicine, Chung-Ang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea Corresponding to Hyun Soo Kim, E-mail: hskim0901@empas.com Ann Clin Microbiol 2020;23(2):57-66. https://doi.org/10.5145/ACM.2020.23.2.2Received on 1 November 2019, Revised on 24 December 2019, Accepted on 24 December 2019, Published on 20 June 2020.Copyright © Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology. Abstract Molecular diagnostic techniques are used for the diagnosis and monitoring of viral infections. The performance of the in vitro diagnostic assays is important for an accurate and prompt diagnosis. Positive clinical samples or reference materials (RMs) are essential