Gwangju City Achieves 69.6 Billion Won in Local Business Purchases in First Half of 2025
"Closer and More Thorough!" Initiative Proves Highly Effective
Gwangju City in Gyeonggi Province announced on August 11 that its total purchases from local businesses in the first half of 2025 amounted to 69.6 billion won.
This achievement reflects the city’s commitment to its eighth popularly elected administration’s economic slogan, “Closer and More Thorough!” and its all-out efforts to promote purchases from local businesses and revitalize the regional economy.
The main purchase figures include: 34.6 billion won in contracts for government-funded construction projects, 5.4 billion won in purchases for national projects, 25.7 billion won in purchases from large-scale private construction sites, and 3.9 billion won in sales at agricultural direct markets.
In particular, contracts with local companies for construction, services, and goods reached 34.6 billion won, accounting for 84.9% of negotiated contracts?an increase of 12 percentage points compared to the same period last year. For government-funded construction projects, over 95% of negotiated contracts were signed with local businesses from 2023 to 2025. More than 90% of government-supplied materials?including streetlights (92%), road traffic signs (94%), and pavement materials (96%)?were purchased locally, contributing to increased sales for local companies.
The city also organized product briefings between ten outstanding local companies and public facility managers, and held a meeting involving construction firms from seven apartment complexes and 25 local specialty companies. These initiatives established a cooperative system to expand local companies’ participation in bidding and provide them with tangible opportunities.
As a result, purchases in the national project sector increased by 178%, from 1.4 billion won in the first quarter to 3.9 billion won in the second quarter. Purchases from large-scale private construction sites rose by 52%, from 10.2 billion won to 15.5 billion won.
Additionally, the city supported small and medium-sized enterprises and small business owners with a total of 73 billion won in development funds and special guarantees, and helped 202 companies expand their online sales channels through the Gwangju e-Marketplace. By operating agricultural direct markets such as the Jayeonchae Food Farm Center, the city also generated 4.8 billion won in sales, boosting local farmers’ incomes.
Mayor Bang Sehwan stated, “We will continue to develop economic policies that local businesses and small business owners can truly feel, and do our utmost to strengthen business competitiveness and restore the regional economy. Moving forward, under the banner of ‘Closer and More Thorough,’ we will focus our administrative capabilities on stabilizing the local economy and realizing an economic city based on mutual prosperity.”
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