Government Sets Innovation Purchase Target at 547.7 Billion Won This Year, Up 31.2% YoY

227 Newly Designated, Annual Designation Target Raised from 800 to 900

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] The government plans to expand the public sector's innovation procurement target amount by more than 30% compared to last year and actively promote support for domestic and international market expansion, including marketing assistance.

On the 1st, Ando-geol, Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance, chaired the 2nd meeting of the public-private joint committee, the 'Public Demand Discovery Committee,' at the Government Sejong Complex, announcing that the innovation procurement target amount for the public sector will increase from 417.3 billion KRW last year to 547.7 billion KRW this year, a 31.2% increase. The proportion relative to the total goods procurement amount was also raised from 1% to about 1.2%. Vice Minister An explained, "We will actively utilize innovative procurement as a stepping stone to improve the quality of public services for the people and foster new innovative technologies and industries."

Additionally, 227 new innovative products will be designated, expanding the total to 688 by the first half of the year. Accordingly, the number of innovative products receiving legal privileges such as sole-source contracts and procurement exemptions will significantly increase compared to the existing 461 as of the end of May. Considering the high application rate from the industry, the annual designation target for innovative products this year will also be raised from the original 800 to 900.

A new designation track for innovative products has been established for pre-commercial prototypes related to the Korean New Deal. In this meeting, 16 new items, including an expandable negative pressure isolation system, were newly designated. Through this, the plan is to discover products linked to major policies such as the Korean New Deal, designate them additionally as innovative products, and establish a virtuous cycle structure where innovative products are actively purchased and utilized during the execution of New Deal projects by each ministry. Furthermore, an 'Innovation Procurement-New Deal Coordination Committee' involving New Deal-related ministries such as the Ministry of Science and ICT, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and Ministry of Environment will be newly established to regularly inspect and manage innovative product purchase performance during New Deal project execution.

Along with this, to support innovation procurement tasks from the perspective of demand institutions and procurement companies in a one-stop manner, the function of the 'Innovation Procurement Specialized Support Center' will be strengthened, and efforts to legislate it will be promoted. In particular, related procedures such as revising procurement business laws to establish the legal basis for the specialized support center will be swiftly pursued in the second half of the year.

The government will first expand the procurement target and also provide policy support for domestic and international market expansion of innovative procurement companies, including marketing support. When selecting export support project recipients such as KOTRA and the Small and Medium Business Corporation, preferential systems for innovative procurement companies will be introduced, and new programs such as exclusive online marketing and overseas buyer matching support for innovative procurement companies will be promoted.

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