The Institute for Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP) has initiated support for expanding public market access for social economy enterprises in the Daejeon and Sejong regions.
On June 29, IITP held an event titled "Valuable Purchases, Opening Public Markets Together" at its headquarters in Daejeon.
The event was co-hosted by IITP, the Value Plus Social Cooperative, the Korea Social Enterprise Promotion Agency, and the Daejeon Social Enterprise Council. The Korea Research Foundation, the Korea Forest Welfare Institute, and the Small Enterprise and Market Service also participated as collaborating organizations. Representatives from 15 public institutions in the Daejeon and Sejong regions attended, including the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials, and the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute. Thirty-six social economy enterprises showcased their products and services and engaged in consultations with public procurement officials.
The event highlighted successful cases where social economy enterprises secured market access and enhanced product competitiveness through public procurement.
Social enterprise Wingwing expanded its public supply capabilities through its participation in IITP's environmentally and socially responsible store initiative, establishing a stable revenue base. To address issues with dented canned products during bulk deliveries, the company improved product quality by adopting a nitrogen gas filling method.
IITP has been expanding public procurement by introducing social enterprise products and services in its on-site stores, evaluation meetings, and operational services. Following this event, IITP plans to extend this model to public institutions in the Daejeon and Sejong regions and promote follow-up cooperation among participating organizations to facilitate actual purchases and contracts.
Hong Jin-bae, the head of IITP, expressed hope that social economy enterprises would connect with the public market and that public institutions would find reliable partners in social value. He stated, "We will continue to spread a win-win cooperation model that links the purchasing power of public institutions with the growth of local social economy enterprises."
Meanwhile, IITP announced on June 17 that it would accelerate the development of key technologies such as semiconductors, physical AI, 6th generation mobile communication (6G), and defense AI in response to the advent of the AI 2.0 era. This year, IITP plans to invest 1.3 trillion won in AI and information and communication technology (ICT) research and development, aiming to build a full-stack technology ecosystem to secure national AI sovereignty competitiveness.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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