[Asia Exclusive] Innovation of Kim Jung-woo, Administrator of Public Procurement Service... Everyone Gets '2-Minute Speaking Time' at the Round Table

Kim Jung-woo, Administrator of the Public Procurement Service, is introducing this year's innovation procurement promotion direction in an interview with Asia Economy on the 5th./Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Since his inauguration, Commissioner Kim Jeong-woo has been continuing the drastic transformation of the Public Procurement Service (PPS). The biggest changes are in the meeting style and communication. Previously, meetings were held with the commissioner sitting at the so-called head seat at the end of a rectangular table, followed by seating according to rank. Commissioner Kim believed that innovation procurement would be difficult with this setup.

The rectangular table was removed and replaced with a round one. With the commissioner seated, he can now converse with all meeting attendees in front and beside him.

There is no head seat or last seat. They often hold standing meetings where everyone stands and talks comfortably. Meeting times are also differentiated. This is the so-called "2-minute time limit." Whether the commissioner or anyone else, everyone is encouraged to say what they want within 2 minutes.

The intention is not to have meetings where only a few give instructions, but for everyone to participate. Initially, this meeting style was unfamiliar within the organization, but it has now become part of the culture. One PPS employee said, "In the past, I would just observe and leave during meetings, but now that the commissioner gives even lower-ranked employees a chance to speak, I prepare more for meetings and study the agenda more thoroughly."

Another bold move is the appointment of non-exam passers. Among the over 1,000 PPS employees, only about 40 are exam passers. They have held most of the key positions, leading to criticism of monopolization by exam passers.

However, when Commissioner Kim promoted Lee Hyun-ho, then Director of the New Technology Service Bureau, to Deputy Commissioner last November, such criticism is expected to subside somewhat. Deputy Commissioner Lee is a grade 7 public official recruit and is the first non-exam passer to become deputy commissioner in 15 years since 2005.

Since then, among the section chief-level personnel, 4 out of 6 main section chiefs were replaced, and 2 non-exam passers were appointed. These days, they are considering expanding PPS personnel in line with the increased workload.

Commissioner Kim enjoys exercise such as hiking and jogging but has recently been substituting with home training (home training). He reportedly sweats it out by watching popular YouTube broadcasts early in the morning before work or in the evening after work at home. Sometimes he exercises alone, and sometimes with his family.

▲1968, Cheorwon, Gangwon Province ▲Bachelor’s in International Economics, Seoul National University ▲Master’s in Public Administration, Seoul National University ▲Ph.D. in Policy Studies, University of Bristol, UK ▲Director of Contract System Division, Ministry of Strategy and Finance ▲Professor, Department of Public Administration, College of Social Sciences, Sejong University ▲20th National Assembly Member (Democratic Party of Korea, Gunpo Gap, Gyeonggi Province) ▲Current Commissioner of the Public Procurement Service (November 2020~)

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