The Korea Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises said on the 2nd it held the "2026 first public procurement system activation committee" at KBIZ in Yeouido, Seoul, and discussed directions to improve the public procurement system and ways to expand small and medium-sized enterprises' participation in the procurement market.
The public procurement system activation committee is a consultative body launched in Jun. last year to support small and medium-sized enterprises' entry into the public procurement market and to identify tasks to improve related systems.
At the meeting, participants reviewed first-half improvements to the public procurement system, including raising the minimum successful bid rate under the product purchase qualification screening system, and discussed tasks needing supplementation. They also exchanged views on the role and necessity of the small business-to-small business competition system.
The small business-to-small business competition system restricts eligibility to participate in public institution tenders to small and medium-sized enterprises that directly produce the designated products, for items designated every three years by the Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. Currently, 616 products are designated and will be maintained through 2027. Next year, reviews will be conducted to select the next designated items to be applied from 2028.
Attorney Kim Gi-su of Law Firm Ije said, "Under the government procurement agreement, policies that favor domestic corporations or discriminate against foreign corporations are prohibited, but small business-to-small business competition measures are exceptionally permitted," adding, "It is effectively the only policy tool that can protect domestic industry."
He added, "Energizing systems that support small and medium-sized enterprises is a constitutionally legitimate public task," and "If small and medium-sized enterprises go bankrupt due to the absence of such systems, massive social welfare costs, such as unemployment benefits for workers and regional imbalances, arise, so at the national level the small business-to-small business competition system should be recognized not as an expense but as an investment."
Chairperson Jang Gyu-jin noted, "The small business-to-small business competition system is a very important system that uses the government's purchasing power to support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises and job creation, and to protect the diversity of the domestic manufacturing base and industrial ecosystem," and added, "We hope that through activation of the system, small and medium-sized enterprises will enter the public procurement market more actively."