Korea Federation of SMEs Holds 'Public Procurement System Revitalization Committee' Meeting

Discussion on Improvements to the Public Procurement System and Key Issues Facing SMEs in Public Procurement

The Korea Federation of SMEs announced on June 24 that it held the '2025 First Public Procurement System Revitalization Committee Meeting'.

The Public Procurement System Revitalization Committee was launched to promote public procurement of SME products and to seek the development of cooperatives through the public procurement system. The committee is chaired by Jang Kyujin, President of the Korea Association of Machinery Industry Cooperatives, and includes representatives from manufacturing-based industries, procurement experts, and legal professionals as external expert members.

At this meeting, discussions were held on necessary improvements to the public procurement system and major current issues, which are essential for boosting domestic demand among SMEs following the launch of the new government. In particular, the committee positively evaluated the government's recent efforts to improve the public procurement system, while also calling for immediate improvements to new systems that threaten the competitive framework among SMEs, such as those involving convergence products.

Additionally, the committee emphasized the need to improve the lowest price inducement system and the procedure for calculating estimated prices, as well as to raise the minimum successful bid rate under the qualified evaluation system, in order to ensure fair pricing for small and micro enterprises. The committee also highlighted the necessity of reforming the current system of sanctions against disqualified bidders, which uniformly restricts bidding eligibility, by applying differential measures according to the severity of violations.

Chairman Jang Kyujin stated, "While we welcome the government's ongoing efforts to improve public procurement-related systems, there is an urgent need for swift improvements on long-standing issues at the field level, such as ensuring fair pricing and alleviating excessive restrictions on bidding eligibility. The Public Procurement System Revitalization Committee will strive to develop policy alternatives to address the challenges faced by SMEs and serve as a channel to deliver these proposals to the government and the National Assembly."