Paju City Implements Preferential Local Contracts and Discretionary Contract Quota System... Discretionary Contract Rate Rises to 65%

Strengthening the Foundation for Fair Contract Execution
Visible Results in Local Economic Revitalization

Paju City in Gyeonggi Province announced on January 12 that, in order to revitalize the local economy, it has been implementing a policy of prioritizing contracts with local businesses since October 2022 and operating a quota system for discretionary contracts. This approach has expanded contract participation opportunities for local companies while also enhancing the fairness and transparency of the contracting process.

Paju City Hall view. Provided by Paju City

As a result of setting management targets (indicators) to gradually increase the rate of discretionary contracts awarded to local businesses, Paju City has seen this rate improve from around 40% before the policy was introduced to approximately 65% in 2025.

To achieve this, the city expanded the scope of preferential contracts with local businesses to include not only single-quote discretionary contracts but also card purchase contracts. In particular, for single-quote discretionary contracts that include card expenditures of 2 million won or more, the city requires prior consultation with the ordering department through financial agreement, and has strengthened reviews to ensure that products and equipment from local businesses are reflected from the design stage.

Through the discretionary contract quota system, the city has broadened the foundation for local businesses to participate in contracts, while also working to mitigate the concentration of contracts with specific companies. Notably, starting in 2025, to further enhance the effectiveness and fairness of the system, the city has reduced the number of times a single department can award discretionary contracts to the same company from five to four, and has set an annual contract cap of 700 million won.

Kim Yanghwan, Head of the Accounting Division, stated, "Through the discretionary contract quota system, we have expanded opportunities for local businesses to participate and strengthened the foundation for fair contract execution," adding, "We will continue to make efforts to ensure that local economic revitalization and transparent contract administration go hand in hand."