PPS chief Baek Seung-bo chairs second-half department heads meeting, orders swift action on AI industry support and non-metropolitan business assistance
The Public Procurement Service (PPS) said it will step up the pace of policy implementation in the second half of the year to deliver tangible results that businesses and the public can feel.
PPS Commissioner Baek Seung-bo chaired the "2026 Second-Half Procurement Department Heads Meeting" on Sunday, centering the session on that goal. All senior officials at the rank of section chief and above attended, including directors and department heads at headquarters and the chiefs of 11 regional offices nationwide, and the meeting was livestreamed on the agency's official YouTube channel.
At the meeting, Baek reviewed major first-half achievements pursued under the goal of supporting South Korea's great leap forward through the strategic use of public procurement, and called for concrete measures to implement key second-half tasks with urgency.
He particularly focused on three comprehensive plans drawn up in the first half — an AI industry revitalization plan, a preferential procurement scheme for non-metropolitan businesses, and a social solidarity economy support plan — exchanging views with attendees on detailed second-half execution strategies before urging swift and forceful follow-through.
Concentrating innovative procurement capacity on strategic industries, including AI, robotics and climate tech
The agency will promote the flow of innovative procurement into strategic industries by operating a dedicated AI track and developing evaluation criteria suited to physical AI, while also improving operational systems through streamlined designation procedures and an overhaul of the innovation marketplace.
Backing locally led growth with field-oriented policies and systems
The PPS will support the establishment of procurement autonomy by strengthening local governments' procurement capacity and building dedicated local procurement portals, while also launching preferential bidding and contracting arrangements for regional businesses in earnest.
More effectively blocking indiscriminate bid participation by shell companies and similar entities
A pilot program that verified bidder qualifications for some construction projects in the first half will be expanded to all construction projects, and bid deposits will be imposed on firms suspected of being shell companies.
Strengthening strategic stockpiling functions based on experience responding to supply chain crises
To ensure seamless stockpiling, the agency will pursue improvements to the consignment-based and public-private joint stockpiling systems as well as direct stockpiling, while also expanding infrastructure, including the development of an AI-powered stockpiling system.
Laying the groundwork to root out unfair procurement practices and establish fair evaluation
The agency will develop measures to prevent "specification squatting" and overhaul its probe, recovery and penalty systems to eliminate unfair procurement conduct.
The PPS will also establish an institutional framework for managing and overseeing private evaluation committee members, and support fair evaluation by building an AI-assisted evaluation support system and expanding the pool of evaluators for emerging industries.
"In the second half, all staff must unite and dramatically raise the speed of execution so that the key tasks we have been pursuing can take root quickly on the ground," Baek said at the meeting. "Please conduct field-oriented procurement administration that steps closer to businesses, demand agencies and the public through constant communication throughout the policy implementation process."
kwonhl@heraldcorp.com
