Decision to Recover Unjust Profits from 14 Companies Involved in Unfair Procurement Practices

Unfair procurement practices, including violations of direct production requirements, have led to the decision to recover unjust profits from 14 companies.

On the 6th, the Public Procurement Service announced that it has decided to recover unjust profits amounting to approximately 400 million KRW from 14 companies involved in unfair procurement practices such as violations of direct production, contract specifications, and preferential price maintenance obligations across 18 product categories, including LED streetlight fixtures and life jackets.

According to the Public Procurement Service, two companies including Company A were found to have supplied LED streetlight fixtures and sculptures installed along roads for traffic safety and security, as well as LED landscape lighting fixtures installed to illuminate trees and other scenery, without directly producing them, instead purchasing finished products from other companies. As a result, 160 million KRW in unjust profits will be recovered.

Two companies including Company B were found to have failed to directly perform essential processes during the contract fulfillment of life jackets and instead supplied products produced through subcontractors. Consequently, 110 million KRW will be recovered.

Two companies including Company C were found to have violated contract specifications by not polishing and processing ‘jogyeongseok’ (landscape stones) installed to prevent slope collapse in rivers and parks according to the contract standards, and instead supplied products with different specifications. They will be required to return 7 million KRW.

In addition to these companies, the Public Procurement Service detected unfair procurement practices by a total of 35 companies this year and decided to recover unjust profits amounting to approximately 3 billion KRW.

Lim Gi-geun, Administrator of the Public Procurement Service, stated, “The Public Procurement Service will strictly respond to unfair procurement practices to ensure that the four fundamental values of public procurement?fairness, transparency, quality, and safety?take deep root in the public procurement market.”