SEOUL, 16 May 2015 (AFP) - Birdies at the third and 14th holes cancelled out bogeys at the fifth and seventh and kept the 42-year-old on an even keel, as his fellow overnight leader, South Korean Moon Kyong-Jun, fired a 74 to drop to second place.
New Zealand lefthander Gareth Paddison shot a 70 to sit in sole possession of third while defending champion Park Jun-Won was a stroke further back after carding a 69.
South Korean amateur star Kim Young-Woong, aged just 16 and the first round leader, came in with a 75 which left him in eighth spot.
"It has been a while since I led after three rounds," said Norris, who is bidding to become the first foreigner to win the tournament in a decade.
"I didn’t play quite as well today. I wasn't tired or nervous, just didn't quite hit it as well," the Australian said.
Leading third-round scores (South Korean unless stated, "A" denotes amateur):
209 - Jason Norris (AUS) 68-69-72
211 - Moon Kyong-Jun 71-66-74
212 - Gareth Paddison (NZL) 69-73-70
213 - Park Jun-Won 69-75-69
214 - Ryan Fox 73-73-68
215 - Lee Tae-Hee 71-72-72, Choi Jin-Ho 72-70-73
216 - Kim Young-Woong (A) 67-74-75
217 - Hyun Jeong-Hyup 73-73-71, Kim Do-Hoon 76-67-73, Kim Woo-Chan 70-74-73, Kim Tae-Hoon 71-73-73, Lee Jae-Kyeoung (A) 73-70-74