2024.07.18. The Fair Economy — The Environmental Corporation of Incheon (CEO Choi Gye-un) was found to have violated bidding regulations by selecting unqualified individuals as candidates for its proposal evaluation committees while advancing numerous public projects. It also forced through proposal evaluations without meeting the minimum number of members required to convene the committee. An audit further confirmed that the corporation ignored the obligation to draft minutes, failing to record them on multiple occasions.
Incheon Metropolitan City recently released the '2024 Comprehensive Audit Results Report for the Environmental Corporation of Incheon,' which detailed these findings.
According to the report, the corporation selected unqualified individuals as proposal evaluation committee candidates.
When forming proposal evaluation committees for a new staff recruitment agency service in the first and second halves of 2023 and in 2024, the corporation selected candidates with professional experience in human resources, recruitment, contracts, and auditing. However, it violated relevant guidelines by selecting local public enterprise employees at grade 6 or below as committee candidates.
According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's administrative rule, 'Criteria for Determining the Successful Bidder in Local Government Bidding,' Chapter 7, Section 4, Subsection 1 (Committee Composition) under 'Criteria for Determining the Successful Bidder in Contracts by Negotiation,' the committee shall be composed of public officials from the state and other local governments, and persons with extensive knowledge and experience in contracts (such as executives and employees of specialized institutions and organizations in the relevant field, experts, and university professors).
Additionally, Article 4 (Qualifications of Evaluation Committee Members) of the 'Incheon Metropolitan City Proposal Evaluation Committee Establishment and Operation Rules' stipulates that members must have expertise in the relevant evaluation field. Specifically, eligible persons include: (i) officials of grade 7 or higher from the national or other local governments with at least three years of experience in the evaluation field; (ii) staff of grade 5 or higher in technical positions at government investment institutions, affiliated agencies, or local public enterprises, or those with equivalent experience; (iii) persons holding an associate professor or higher position at a university who specialize in the field; (iv) individuals with a technical engineer or doctoral degree and at least one year of relevant work experience; (v) employees of specialized institutions or organizations in the field; (vi) representatives of civic groups, or any other person deemed necessary for fair review.
The corporation ignored the minimum committee size rules for operating proposal evaluation committees.
To determine successful bidders through negotiated contracts, the 'Enforcement Decree of the Local Contract Act,' Article 43, Paragraph 9, requires the formation and operation of a proposal evaluation committee. Additionally, under the model regulation's 'Chapter 7: Criteria for Concluding Negotiated Contracts, Section 4: Formation and Operation of Proposal Evaluation Committees,' the committee must consist of at least seven and no more than ten members, including the chair, to evaluate proposals submitted by bidders and determine negotiation priorities.
However, Incheon Metropolitan City pointed out that these rules were not followed.
A review of the corporation's proposal evaluation committee formation and operations during the audit period revealed that in five service projects, the corporation convened committees with fewer than seven attending members due to absences for personal reasons. It did so without taking appropriate measures to secure the minimum number of members, such as contacting reserve committee members or rescheduling the meetings.
The corporation neglected to prepare meeting minutes for the proposal evaluation committee.
According to the rules, heads of project-issuing departments must draft and manage committee minutes that include the date and time of the meeting, the names of attending members, and the content of key remarks.
Therefore, the corporation was required to draft and manage minutes containing these details when operating its proposal evaluation committees.
However, the audit revealed that the corporation failed to draft minutes despite conducting numerous proposal evaluations.
The Incheon Metropolitan Government cautioned the chairman of the Environmental Corporation of Incheon, saying, "In future contract-by-negotiation work, comply with laws and guidelines regarding the selection of proposal evaluation committee members, meeting the minimum number of committee members for holding meetings, and preparing meeting minutes," and "conduct job training for all employees on proposal evaluation regulations." Yeonchan (硏鑽) means to study something in depth.
In addition, the corporation was heavily criticized for a range of other improper practices, including: inadequate management of hazardous chemical handling facilities; neglect of confined space work safety training; failure to properly designate and manage disaster risk facilities; insufficient safety management of children's playgrounds; poor maintenance of sports facilities; and neglect in operating the Environmental Corporation of Incheon's wrestling team.
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