Contract Controversy Arises as Gender Equality Education Agency Changes Contract Method
There is growing concern over a potential conflict of interest as the head of the Gender Equality Education Promotion Agency abruptly changed the contract method. It has been discovered that a negotiated contract worth 19 million won was signed between Social Holdings and the agency, despite the initial plan for competitive bidding. This has raised suspicions of preferential treatment towards Social Holdings, which is associated with the agency’s current candidate for Minister of Gender Equality and Family, Kim Haeng.
The issue first came to light in 2015 when Kim Haeng was the director of the Korea Gender Equality Promotion Agency. The agency had initially announced a project titled ‘Mobile Platform Function Improvement’ with a contract value of 40 million won. However, just hours before the deadline, the project was suddenly canceled with the reason cited as the need to diagnose the system status. Two months later, on August 21, the agency entered into a private contract worth 19 million won with Social Holdings, bypassing the requirement for a competitive bidding process.
Under the ‘Enforcement Decree of the Act on Contracts to which the State is a Party,’ projects exceeding 20 million won in value are required to go through the Public Procurement Service. However, by signing a private contract below this threshold, Yangpyeongwon, the agency in question, has raised concerns about transparency and fairness.
Furthermore, it should be noted that in June 2015, Yangpyeongwon faced criticism for entering into private contracts without going through the Public Procurement Service for projects worth over 20 million won. This raises questions about the agency’s intent to avoid scrutiny and whether there was a deliberate reduction in project value to facilitate a private contract. Attorney Ha Seung-soo, CEO of the municipal group ‘Catch Tax Thieves,’ pointed out that canceling a competitive bid and proceeding with a private contract is highly unusual and could lead to suspicions of job dumping.
Responding to the controversies, Candidate Kim stated that the negotiation of the contract was due to the low cost of the project and clarified the agency’s limit for private contracts as 30 million won. However, he has yet to present any data to support these claims.
In light of these developments, it remains crucial to investigate the nature of the contract change and ensure transparency and fairness in public contracts.
By Joo-bin Lee ie@hani.co.kr
When the head of the Gender Equality Education Promotion Agency suddenly changed the contract method
Contract worth 19 million negotiated won with Social Holdings… Potential for conflict of interest
Kim Haeng, candidate for Minister of Gender Equality and Family, answers questions from reporters as he goes to work in the personnel hearing preparation office set up in a building in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the morning of the 18th. random news
In 2015, when Kim Haeng, the candidate for the Minister of Gender Equality and Family, was serving as the director of the Korea Gender Equality Promotion Agency (Yangpyeongwon), it was confirmed that the negotiated contract was signed by Yangpyeongwon with Social Holdings, established by the candidate Kim , originally promoted by competitive bidding but changed. Since Social Holdings won the contract after changing the contract method, the issue of ‘Candidate Kim’s conflict of interest as a public official’ is expected to arise again, along with suspicions that the Yangpyeongwon gave Social Holdings ‘work preference’. As a result of a comment from the Hankyoreh on the 26th, Yangpyeongwon posted a notice on the won 40 million ‘Mobile Platform Function Improvement’ project on June 9, 2015. This announcement was suddenly canceled at 7:38 am on the 23rd of the same month, 7 hours before the deadline. The reason for cancellation was Yangpyeongwon’s request to ‘re-promote after diagnosing the system status.’ Two months later, on August 21, Yangpyeongwon signed a private contract worth 19 million won with Social Holdings instead of pursuing this project again through a competitive bid. The ‘Enforcement Decree of the Act on Contracts to which the State is a Party’ requires that a quotation be received through the Public Procurement Service if the project size exceeds 20 million won, but Yangpyeongwon entered into a contract private with Social Holdings for 1 million. earn less than the limit amount. Negotiated contracts are a method of contracting with a particular company without competitive bidding, and there are frequent disputes about transparency and fairness. Before signing a contract with Social Holdings, Yangpyeongwon received a ‘warning’ in a comprehensive audit by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family in June 2015 for entering into private contracts for projects worth over 20 million won without going through the Public Procurement Service. Attorney Ha Seung-soo (CEO of the municipal group ‘Catch Tax Thieves’) said, “It is not common for a competing bid to be canceled and the project to be carried out again through a private contract.” “If you can’t reveal it, you might suspect job dumping,” he said. In addition, he said, “We need to clarify whether the reason for reducing the amount of the project (by half) was to enter into a private contract.” Suspicions were previously raised that Yangpyeongwon was trying to avoid signing a contract through the Public Procurement Service regarding the ’19 million won’ private contract he signed with Social Holdings. In response to this, Candidate Kim explained on the 25th, “The reason the contract was negotiated was because the cost of the project was low,” and “the limit for private contracts in Yangpyeongwon was 30 million won.” He then said, “We will present all the data (relating to the contract) later,” but the data has not yet been made public. Correspondent Joo-bin Lee ie@hani.co.kr
#Women #Society #News #Hankyoreh
