Public Procurement Service highlights fostering innovation, supporting AI startups

The Public Procurement Service (PPS) has spent the past year reshaping Korea's public procurement system to support innovation, nurture emerging industries such as artificial intelligence (AI) and tighten oversight of government contracts, it said Tuesday. A key focus has been expanding innovation procurement, which the agency views as a tool for helping promising startups and technology firms gain a foothold in the market. Over the past year, the number of products designated as innovative rose 24 percent, while public sector purchases of such products increased 11 percent. Growth was particularly strong in strategic sectors including AI, robotics and climate technology, where product designations jumped 44 percent from a year earlier. The agency also introduced a series of measures aimed at making it easier for AI companies to win government contracts. The reforms included easing delivery performance requirements, offering preferential treatment in bidding and streamlining contract procedures. At the same time, PPS stepped up efforts to crack down on shell corporations that participate