Ministry of Economy and Finance, Up to 565 Days for Special Approval of Public Enterprise Contracts... Need for Establishing Principles and Standards

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] It has been revealed that requests for special approval of contracts by public institutions are causing project delays due to the Ministry of Economy and Finance's arbitrary approval delays.

Contracts of public institutions inherently have characteristics that make it difficult to apply uniform standards, so special exceptions are established considering various types and tasks performed.

To apply these exceptions, approval from the Ministry of Economy and Finance is required under the current "Act on the Management of Public Institutions," but cases of prolonged delays in approval without special reasons are frequent.

According to the office of Kim Kyung-hyup, a member of the National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee from the Democratic Party, from 2018 to November 2019, it took an average of 83.5 days for the Ministry of Economy and Finance to respond regarding approval of contract exceptions for public enterprises and quasi-governmental institutions.

There were four cases where the approval process exceeded 100 days, and among them, one case took 565 days, well over a year.

Upon confirmation with the Ministry of Economy and Finance by Kim's office, it was revealed that the Ministry has left the processing period, procedures, and standards for special approval to the discretion of the responsible personnel without any separate established regulations.

In response, Representative Kim said, "Contract exceptions created for the efficient operation of public institutions are being indefinitely delayed due to the Ministry of Economy and Finance's barriers," adding, "The Ministry should establish detailed procedures and standards for special approval to resolve the issue of long-term delays."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.