Gwangju Regional Public Procurement Service, Focused Support for SMEs Facing Financial Difficulties

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] The Gwangju Regional Public Procurement Service (Director Kim Gong-jin) announced on the 6th that it will undertake multifaceted support to alleviate the burdens of local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) facing management difficulties due to the spread of COVID-19 and the sharp rise in raw material prices.

The Gwangju Procurement Service has been actively administering measures such as accepting applications for contract unit price increases in response to recent raw material price surges, reviewing and reflecting these, and promptly concluding contracts.

It plans to focus administrative efforts on minimizing the burden on local SMEs by actively applying the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s ‘Temporary Contract Special Measures,’ extended until the end of this year, in the field.

For all competitive bids, emergency bidding will be allowed as much as possible, and advance payments and subcontract payments will be shortened and paid within 5 days from the application date.

In cases where delivery is inevitably delayed or not fulfilled due to COVID-19, various punitive measures such as sanctions against dishonest contractors, imposition of delay penalties, and forfeiture of contract deposits will be waived, or extensions of delivery deadlines will be actively promoted.

Director Kim Gong-jin said, "Considering the spread of COVID-19 and the local economic situation, we plan to provide multifaceted support so that local SMEs can overcome management difficulties," adding, "We will actively carry out administration so that public procurement can serve as a driving force for economic revitalization in the Gwangju and Jeonnam regions and the sustainable development of local SMEs."

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