Vice Minister Ki Jae: "Preferential Treatment for Verified Innovative Products in Government Procurement at the Integrated Technology Market"

Ahn Il-hwan, Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance, is delivering a congratulatory speech at the 'Energy Technology Market Opening Ceremony' held on the 28th at the Daejeon Electric Power Research Institute.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] The government has decided to give preferential treatment to innovative products verified in the integrated technology market of public institutions when procuring government supplies.

An Il-hwan, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, announced this on the 28th at the opening ceremony of the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Energy Technology Market held at the main auditorium of the Korea Electric Power Research Institute in Daejeon.

The SME Energy Technology Market is a platform designed to support small and medium enterprises that have excellent technologies and materials but face difficulties participating in public construction projects and supplying due to limitations such as delivery performance and technology verification.

It supports the development of innovative technologies through public contests and assists SMEs in entering the market by discovering, verifying, and purchasing innovative products. Fourteen public institutions, including Korea Electric Power Corporation and power generation companies, operate the platform.

In his congratulatory speech, Vice Minister An said, "The scale of procurement by public institutions in the energy sector reached 4.1834 trillion won last year, and the scope of related industries is broad," adding, "With the opening of the Energy Technology Market, the scale of the public institution technology market and the support effect for SMEs will be further enhanced."

Vice Minister An also stated that products discovered and verified in the integrated technology market of public institutions are considered to have passed innovation evaluations, and plans are underway to designate them as innovative products based solely on public interest evaluations by the Procurement Policy Deliberation Committee.

Products designated as innovative can be contracted through negotiated contracts, registered on the Public Procurement Service's 'Innovation Procurement Platform,' and purchasing officers are exempt from purchase liability when buying such products, among other preferential provisions.

Vice Minister An urged, "We must make the platform operation actively and proactively, including setting challenging business plans for next year, so that it provides practical help to both SMEs and public institutions," and added, "Please utilize the Energy Technology Market as a catalyst for innovative procurement by actively using it as a gateway to introduce new technologies, construction methods, and products in promoting the Korean New Deal."