The people are watching… Don’t budge on unfair procurement practices!

Last year,  the number of reports of unfair procurement practices reached an all-time high, indicating that public participation and interest in establishing a fair society are high.

 The 2024  Unfair Procurement Reporting Center  recorded the highest number of reports ever , receiving 337 reports ,  a 42% increase from the previous year (238 cases)  .

 Since March of last year, the Public Procurement Service (Public Procurement Service, Commissioner Lim Ki-geun) has been promoting various institutional improvements to encourage reporting of unfair procurement practices, such as delivery of products not directly produced (manufactured), delivery with false indication of country of origin, and delivery of products different from contract specifications.

 First,  the reward limit per report  was adjusted from 10 million won to 20 million won, and the reward rate per section for the amount of illicit profits  recovered through reports  was also increased from  0.02-1.0% to 0.2-2.0% ,  significantly expanding the scale of the reward for reporting to a level that the public  can feel . 

   * Reward for recovery of unjust enrichment = Unjust enrichment recovery amount × Reward rate by recovery amount section

 The frequency of payment of the reporting reward has been expanded from twice a year (semi-annually) to four times a year  ( quarterly  )  , and the reward  cycle for reporting has also been shortened .

 As a result,  the total amount of reward money paid  last year was 49.92 million won , the largest amount since the introduction of the reward system in 2020  .

  ※ Reporting reward payment performance:

     (’21) 500,000 won → (’22) 12.98 million won → (’23) 26.58 million won → (’24) 49.92 million won

A total of 52 whistleblowers  were found to have received rewards ranging from a minimum of 200,000 won to a maximum  of 4.73 million won per person, depending on the number of reports and the severity of the content of the reports.

 In cases where the Public Procurement Service, as a result of an investigation into a report,  imposes  disciplinary measures such as restrictions on bidding participation , imposition of fines, and suspension of transactions on the reported company, it pays a  fixed  reward of  500,000 to 1 million won and , if  it decides to recover the unfair profits, a reward for each section of the amount of unfair profits recovered (0.2% to 2%) .

 Any citizen who discovers an unfair procurement practice  can report it through the Public Procurement Service website or the ‘ Unfair Procurement Report Center (1644-0412) ’ on the National Marketplace.

 Lim Ki-geun, the Commissioner of the Public Procurement Service, said, “The eradication of unfair procurement practices begins with the public’s interest and courageous reporting.” He added, “This year as well, we  will thoroughly protect the personal safety of reporters so that anyone can report with confidence , while   continuing to manage the basic foundation of public procurement that  upholds fairness and common sense .”

Editor. Hong Se-yeong