On-site Meeting with 18 Companies in Innovation, Excellent, and MAS Sectors to Discuss Procurement Regulation Reset Measures
'Public Procurement Guide' 1:1 Consulting Experience... Continued Efforts for Tangible Results for Companies
The Public Procurement Service (Administrator Lim Kigeun) will hold the 'Field Communication Meeting with Procurement Companies for Public Livelihood' once a month starting in April, visiting key regional hubs across the country.
'Field Communication with Procurement Companies for Public Livelihood.' Photo by Public Procurement Service
Last year, Administrator Lim visited all 11 provinces and metropolitan cities nationwide, holding on-site visits, regional company meetings, and relay communication sessions with underprivileged groups in local communities. Through these efforts, over 600 regulatory issues were identified and incorporated into procurement policy.
This year, 'Season 2' of the Public Livelihood Field Communication initiative will see the Administrator of the Public Procurement Service directly visiting company sites to inspect production facilities. In addition, the Administrator will serve as a 'Public Procurement Guide for a Day,' providing consulting services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) seeking to enter the public procurement market. Furthermore, during on-site meetings with local procurement companies, the Administrator will listen to difficulties faced by companies, regulatory reset tasks, and suggestions for system improvements. There will also be discussions with local procurement office staff to boost morale.
On April 24, for his first activity, Lim Kigeun, Administrator of the Public Procurement Service, visited Seobeon (CEO Jung Yonghwan), an air conditioner manufacturer located in Gangseo-gu, Busan, to inspect the site. He stated, "We will do our utmost to improve the business environment by expanding the scope of excellent product standard specifications, speeding up contract processes, and ensuring fair pricing."
Afterwards, he visited the Busan Knowledge Industry Center, where he explained the Public Procurement Guide system to resident companies wishing to enter the public procurement market. Serving as a 'Guide for a Day,' he provided one-on-one customized consulting services to two or three companies.
Administrator Lim told participating companies, "The Public Procurement Guide will not be limited to one-time consultations and advice. We will systematically manage support by digitizing consultation content and offering follow-up consulting until companies successfully enter the public procurement market."
The Public Procurement Guide is a service that provides one-stop information for all stages from market entry to growth for companies wishing to enter the public procurement market. Introduced in March last year, it has provided about 1,500 tailored consulting sessions to date, and more than 120 novice companies have successfully entered the procurement market for the first time.
Finally, at an on-site meeting for the recovery and stabilization of the public livelihood economy, he listened to the difficulties experienced by small, venture, and innovative companies and discussed various improvement measures.
The meeting was attended by 18 companies, including 2 government-supplied material companies, 3 MAS companies, 5 excellent companies, 4 innovative companies, 3 women-owned companies, and 1 company that successfully entered the market through the Guide program. They proposed various regulatory relaxations in the procurement sector.
Participating companies suggested a range of regulatory and system improvement measures, including exemptions from two-stage competition for common items in ready-mixed concrete and asphalt concrete cooperatives; institutional support for the global expansion of region-based innovative companies; improvement of verification methods for excellent and innovative products; and activation of the introduction of dimensional standards for innovative products. The Public Procurement Service stated that it would focus on ensuring improvements are made through active review by each department.
Administrator Lim emphasized, "We will make every effort to support public procurement that leads the recovery and stabilization of the public livelihood economy." He added, "In particular, this year marks the first year of the Public Procurement Service's regulatory reset initiative. All departments are actively conducting on-site meetings to thoroughly review and improve every regulation and guideline in the procurement sector."
He continued, "All regulations identified through these efforts will be proactively re-examined from the perspectives of the public and businesses, and we will actively support them so that they become a driving force for revitalizing the economy."
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