The 1st Innovation Procurement Competition Held... Land and Housing Corporation and Utssem Win Grand Prize

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] This year, the best public institutions and innovative companies that have dramatically improved public services and achieved technological innovation through innovative procurement were selected.

The Public Procurement Service and the Ministry of Economy and Finance announced on the 23rd that they held the "1st Innovative Procurement Competition" at the Pangyo Startup Campus, with participation from central administrative agencies, local governments, public institutions, and innovative product manufacturing companies.

The competition was attended by National Assembly figures such as Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun and Yoon Hoo-duk, Chairman of the National Assembly Planning and Finance Committee, as well as vice ministers from innovation procurement-related ministries including the Ministry of Science and ICT, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, and Ministry of SMEs and Startups. Also present were Kim Ki-moon, Chairman of the Korea Federation of SMEs, and Ahn Geon-jun, Chairman of the Korea Venture Business Association, who encouraged the participating public institutions and companies.

Before the event, Prime Minister Chung emphasized that the government should lead innovative growth as the first purchaser of innovative products and also play a stepping stone role in fostering strong venture companies to move toward a "jar-shaped economy structure with a strong middle class."

To create achievements and spread the atmosphere of innovative procurement, this competition, held for the first time this year, received a total of 35 cases from central administrative agencies, local governments, and public institutions, and 24 cases from innovative companies.

In the competition, four institutions and four companies that passed the first screening advanced to the finals and engaged in a heated contest.

The final evaluation was conducted with 70% expert assessment and 30% public voting through online live streaming. The judging panel consisted of five experts and 50 citizen evaluators recruited through Gwanghwamun 1st Street.

The judging panel evaluated public interest, social value, innovative procurement achievements, and contributions to improving citizens' lives.

The grand prize was awarded to one institution and one company each, the gold prize to one institution and two companies, and the silver prize to two institutions and one company.

The awarded institutions and companies will undergo official review and are expected to receive the Presidential Citation, Prime Minister's Citation, and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Citation.

The winning cases will be published in the "Innovative Procurement Best Practices Collection" and actively promoted.

The Public Procurement Service will hold a "Regional Touring Exhibition of Innovative Products" to disseminate the excellent cases that advanced to the finals and support innovative companies' entry into the public procurement market.

Kim Jung-woo, Administrator of the Public Procurement Service, stated, "This year is a crucial inaugural year for innovative procurement policies to achieve tangible results, such as introducing the innovative product purchase target system. It is only possible to create outcomes when public institutions and companies actively participate together. Taking this competition as an opportunity, we will continuously discover innovative procurement cases that citizens can genuinely feel and widely spread them so that innovative procurement policies can step closer into the lives of the people."