Police and Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Confirming Facts Regarding Allegations in Selection of 'Public Mask' Supplier

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education is under police investigation after controversy arose over the selection process of the public mask supplier, which provided free masks worth 6 billion won to students.

A police official from the National Police Agency stated on the 2nd, "We recently received related intelligence and are currently verifying it," adding, "This is in the initial stage of an internal investigation." The investigation is being handled by the Serious Crime Investigation Division of the National Police Agency.

Earlier, on March 16, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced that it would distribute filter-replaceable cotton masks to kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high school students in Seoul to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Subsequently, on March 20, the Office announced the selection of mask suppliers and closed applications on the 23rd.

During this process, the Office selected a supplier through a private contract. However, suspicions were raised in the media that the selected company was a computer parts supplier and that the masks were imported cotton masks with only the filters supplied domestically. A police official explained, "We are verifying basic facts with the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education and the selected company."

In response, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education released a statement on the same day, saying, "Due to the urgent situation requiring immediate support aligned with the school reopening date, we had no choice but to decide through a private contract. Although there was no obligation for a public contest, we conducted an open recruitment to ensure fairness and transparency in the selection." They added, "Among the two companies that applied, the supplier was selected through the Goods Purchase Selection Committee." Furthermore, they explained, "While Company A scored higher on objective indicators, Company B received higher scores in subjective evaluations based on mask samples, resulting in Company B being selected after combining the results."

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