KONEPS has dramatically enhanced the transparency of the public procurement process. Competitive bidding opportunities, as well as micro-purchases subject to private contracts are increasingly advertised online thanks to the convenience of e-Bidding. As bid results are opened online on a real time basis, there is no room for public officials to make arbitrary decisions. KONEPS has enhanced the efficiency of the procurement administration. There are also economic costs saved by operating this e-Procurement system. In addition, KONEPS has stimulated the development of e-Commerce in the private sector, as the mind-set for e-Commerce has expanded based on accumulated experiences of online transactions with KONEPS . This has played a prominent role in narrowing the digital divide for 110,000 businesses, most of which are small sized. The United Nations (UN) Division for Public Economics and Public Administration announced Korean PPS as the winner of the United Nations Public Service Awards 2002. PPS has reorganized the procurement service by converting it into an e-commerce base and is expected to save US$ 8 billion every year. KONEPS has also received attention from international organizations including the World Bank. The OECD indicated that the e-Procurement program in Korea appears effective and has a strong pull-through effect on ICT use in the private sector, and no further action is required.
Operational Performance(2018)
KONEPS Transactions
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Unit : 100 million KRW
KONEPS Transactions
A table related to KONEPS Transactions, providing categories, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Category |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
Total |
877,022 |
897,742 |
1,028,339 |
1,127,131 |
Central Procurement |
E-bid |
221,924 |
224,557 |
261,599 |
276,497 |
Shopping Mall |
165,741 |
168,458 |
196,604 |
211,287 |
Total |
387,665 |
393,015 |
459,789 |
487,784 |
Autonomous procurement by user entity |
489,357 |
504,727 |
568,550 |
639,347 |
KONEPS Users
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KONEPS Users
It is a table related to KONEPS Users and provides categories, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Category |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
No. of Public Organizations |
52,395 |
55,040 |
57,734 |
60,964 |
No. of Suppliers |
373,833 |
400,915 |
434,062 |
471,100 |
KONEPS Shopping Mall
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Unit : 100 million KRW
KONEPS Shopping Mall
It is a table related to KONEPS Shopping Mall and provides categories, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Category |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
No. of products |
406,742 |
469,922 |
535,725 |
655,646 |
No. of suppliers |
8,136 |
9,100 |
9,909 |
10,946 |
Transaction Amount |
165,742 |
168,458 |
196,605 |
211,286 |
Enhanced Efficiency of Public Procurement
- From contract request, invitation for bid, bidding, contract, inspection to payment
- Provide a one-stop service by linking KONEPS with more than 200 external systems
- End-user, project size, technical specification, and award criteria
Enhanced Transparency of Public Procurement
Publicized procurement information
- Announcing all bidding information on a real-time basis
- No room for arbitrary decisions
- Converting private contracts to competitive biddings of micro-purchases
Diminished the possibility of corruption
- Online contact instead of direct interpersonal contact
Stimulated e-Commerce in the Private Sector
Promoted an e-Commerce mindset
- Accumulated business experiences of e-Procurement has nhanced the credibility of e-Commerce
- KONEPS served as a catalyst for expanding e-Commerce
Helped build the infrastructure
- Created the computer environment such as the PC, and Internet connection, Promoted the use of digital signatures as the best way to ensure security
- Number of issued signatures increased ten times, during 3 months after adopting the first e-Bidding in September 2000
- Mandatory use of the digital signature in the private sector shopping mall in February 2004.
Received High Appraisal from the International Community
Export to Other Countries
- 2019 Kurdistan Region of Iraq : In the process of being implemented(6M USD)
- 2017 Jordan : E-GP System JONEPS(7.1M USD)
- 2016 Rwanda : E-GP System UMUCYO(4.7M USD)
- 2015 Tunisia : 2015 OPEN GOVERMENT AWARD - Africa Region※ E-GP System TUNEPS(5.2M USD, 2013)
- 2014 Cameroon : E-GP System COLEPS(1.1M USD)
- 2012 Costa Rica : OAS (Organiztion of American States) Award citizen centered e-government in 2012※ E-GP System Mer-Link(9M USD, 2010)
- 2012 Mongolia : E-GP System MEPS(4.1M USD)
- 2010 Vietnam : E-GP System Muasamcong(2.2M USD)
- 2006 WITSA : (World Information Technology and Services Alliance) Global IT Excellence Award
- 2003 UN : UN Public Service Award
Helped build the infrastructure
- Selected for innovations in the public service in Asia Pacific Region (June, 2003)
- PPS has reorganized the procurement service by converting to e-Commerce and is expected to save US$ 2.8 billion every year.
OECD's evaluation (May, 2004)
- KONEPS has a strong pull-through effect on information and communications technology use in the private sector
UN's evaluation (Nov, 2004)
- UN selected KONEPS as the Best Practice Model for e-Procurement
UN/CEFACT's evaluation (April, 2005)
- UN/CEFACT recognized KONEPS e-Procurement procedures as the International standards
WITSA IT Excellence Award (May, 2006)
- Best practice in IT user in public sectors
eASIA Award (August, 2006)
- Best practice in e-Transaction in public sectors
UN Public Service Award (Jun. 2003)
- UN established the award in July 2000 to promote the importance of public service and encourage.
improvement in public service worldwide.
- UN selects agencies recognized for its contribution to public service enhancement and PPS became the first country that received the award for innovative public services in the Asia-Pacific region.
OECD evaluation “KONEPS as best case for impact on the private sector”(May 2004)
- OECD publication 'Peer Review on Korea's ICT Diffusion to Business' reported that Korea achieved best practices for utilizing ICT in the private sector through e-procurement.
- OECD recognized Korea's contribution towards the dissemination of ICT in the private sector, and reached the level of “no further actions required”.
Best Practice Model in e-procurement (Nov. 2004)
- According to the 2004 UN Global e-government Readiness Report, KONEPS was selected as one of the best 23 practices in the world in regards to one-stop integrated servies.
- ※ World's best practice model as KONEPS was chosen as the single candidate for e-procurement sector.
KONEPS process reflected in UN/CEFACT standards (Mar. 2005)
- KONEPS process was reflected in the UN/CEFACT international standards at the 6th UN/CEFACT Forum.
WITSA Global IT Excellence Award (May 2006)
- KONEPS was awarded among the best 3 cases in the public sector using IT technology.
"2007 e-ASIA AWARD" at AFACT Conference (Aug. 2007)
- KONEPS was named as the best practice model of e-transaction in the public sector and won the 'e-Asia Award', which is awarded biannually under the sponsorship of the UN Center for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business.
- ※ Best practices are divided into 4 areas; trade, public e-Business, private e-Business, and Bridging the Digital Divide
Awards of overseas KONEPS-based procurement systems
- e-procurement system of Costa Rica (Mer-link) : Received the OAS Award in the category of citizencentered e-government in 2012.
- e-procurement system of Tunisia (TUNEPS) : Received Open Government Award Regional Champion in Africa in 2015.