Gyeonggi Province to Pilot Procurement Obligation Autonomization This Year... Autonomous Purchasing of Electrical and Electronic Products

The Gyeonggi Provincial Government is easing mandatory purchasing regulations for items under the Public Procurement Service’s unit price contracts and will implement autonomous purchasing, allowing direct procurement of electrical and electronic products as needed and according to circumstances.

On January 5, the Gyeonggi Provincial Government announced that it had been selected as a pilot agency for the “Autonomization of Mandatory Purchasing for Unit Price Contract Items” promoted by the Public Procurement Service. Over the course of this year, Gyeonggi Province and its cities and counties will conduct autonomous purchasing for 118 categories of electrical and electronic products.

The autonomization of procurement obligations allows local governments to purchase necessary items outside of the national procurement platform (Nara Marketplace), based on demand and local conditions, rather than being restricted by existing regulations that required all unit price contract items to be purchased exclusively through the platform.

Gyeonggi Provincial Government

The Public Procurement Service has designated items eligible for autonomous purchasing according to its “Internal Procurement Work Processing Regulations,” and selected Gyeonggi Province and North Jeolla Province as pilot agencies. During the pilot period, Gyeonggi Province plans to focus autonomous purchasing on electrical and electronic products with high actual demand, such as computers and air conditioning and heating units.

With this pilot program, Gyeonggi Province and its 31 cities and counties will be able to select their own suppliers for 118 items, regardless of whether they have contracts with the Public Procurement Service.

The Gyeonggi Provincial Government expects that autonomous purchasing will increase flexibility in procurement procedures, enable more rapid responses to on-site needs, and enhance both administrative efficiency and rational budget execution.

Kim Jeonggwon, Director of Accounting for Gyeonggi Province, stated, “Through autonomous purchasing of unit price contract items from the Public Procurement Service, we expect to increase flexibility in procurement procedures, respond more quickly to on-site demands, and enhance both administrative efficiency and rational budget execution. We will closely review the effects and areas for improvement observed during the pilot program to ensure these changes are felt by both field staff and residents.”