[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] The Gyeonggi Civic Society Coalition expressed its support for Gyeonggi Province's plan to independently develop and operate a local procurement system.
In a statement released on the 8th, the coalition said, "The Public Procurement Service, which is responsible for managing and supervising the procurement market, monopolizes it centrally and locally through the Nara Marketplace system," and added, "Gyeonggi Province's announcement to independently develop a local procurement system and operate it alongside other local governments is a bold first step to address the issues that have been pointed out."
They continued, "There have been insensitive public officials in local governments, including Gyeonggi Province, who have been spending budgets to buy goods at high prices through Nara Marketplace," and emphasized, "Local governments also need to recognize the problems and make efforts to change."
Earlier, on the 2nd, Gyeonggi Province announced plans to develop its own local procurement system to replace the national integrated electronic procurement system, Nara Marketplace, citing high prices of goods and procurement fees not being returned to local governments.
The coalition includes 16 organizations within the province, such as the Gyeonggi Federation of Korea Consumers, Gyeonggi Welfare Civic Solidarity, Gyeonggi Women's Solidarity, Gyeonggi Environmental Movement Federation, and YMCA Gyeonggi Council.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
