2024.07.23. The Fair Economy — Seo-gu District in Incheon (District Governor Kang Beom-seok) was found to have violated statutory regulations on the minimum number of members required to operate a proposal evaluation committee while constituting and running the committee for the 'Purchase of Audio-Visual Equipment for the Seo-gu Cultural Center Renovation Project.' Furthermore, all evaluators were drawn from a specific job category—sound supervisors—confirming long-standing suspicions that the district had "swept" the selection process. Suspicions also arose that bid-interference occurred during the evaluator selection process, as the person in charge allegedly did not even open some of the emails used to apply for evaluator posts. Kang Beom-seok, the district governor who held final approval authority over the project, remained silent on the matter.
The district announced the bid for this project in November last year with an estimated value of 1.82651 billion won. The aim was to replace aging audio systems and infrastructure to build a sound system that would ensure venue stability and support diverse stage productions.
Initially, Seo-gu kept the list of evaluators for this project non-public without legal basis. The person in charge said that, based on an internal departmental review, the district could not disclose the list by applying the Ministry of Strategy and Finance's standard regulation, "Standards for Contract Conclusion by Negotiation."
In response, The Fair Economy filed an administrative reconsideration petition with the Incheon Metropolitan City Administrative Reconsideration Committee, requesting that the district's decision to keep the evaluator list non-public be revoked. In early July, the committee ruled that the district governor should disclose the relevant information.
Failure to meet the minimum operating personnel requirement for the proposal evaluation committee
After the administrative reconsideration ruling, The Fair Economy obtained and analyzed the relevant information, revealing that Seo-gu had failed to comply with regulations on the minimum number of members required to operate a proposal evaluation committee.
The list of proposal evaluation committee members released by Seo-gu for the project showed seven members, but only six actually participated in the evaluation, falling short of the minimum required number.
This was pointed out as a violation of the Local Government Contract Act (Local Contract Law) and related subordinate regulations.
Article 43, Paragraph 9 of the Enforcement Decree of the Local Government Contract Act states that when determining a successful bidder through contract by negotiation, a proposal evaluation committee must be constituted and operated. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety's standard regulation, "Standards for Determining Successful Bidders in Local Government Bidding," specifically its "Chapter 7: Standards for Contract Conclusion by Negotiation, Section 4: Constitution and Operation of Proposal Evaluation Committees," stipulates that such a committee must consist of at least 7 and no more than 10 members, including the chair.
Additionally, it was reported that Seo-gu neglected efforts to prevent the proposal evaluation committee from falling below the minimum personnel requirement, such as contacting reserve committee members or adjusting the evaluation schedule.
A similar case also occurred at the Environmental Corporation of Incheon. The corporation held proposal evaluation committee meetings for five consulting projects despite fewer than seven attendees due to personal reasons, without taking appropriate measures to secure the minimum required number of committee members, and was subsequently criticized by the city of Incheon.
Committee Composed Solely of Sound Supervisors; Efforts to Ensure Diversity Missing
Furthermore, Seo-gu composed all proposal evaluators solely from the specific job category of sound supervisors.
According to the list released by Seo-gu, the proposal evaluation committee members for the project are known to be sound directors employed by the Yangcheon Cultural Foundation, Anyang Cultural Arts Foundation, Geoje Art Center, Kspo&co, Cheonan Cultural Foundation, Anseong City Hall, and the Uijeongbu Cultural Foundation.
This conduct is pointed out as a violation of the 'Incheon Metropolitan City Seo-gu Proposal Evaluation Committee Establishment and Operation Rules' that Seo-gu established.
Article 3, Paragraph 1 of these rules stipulates that evaluators must be individuals with expertise in the relevant field who fall into one of the following categories: civil servants of the national or other local governments with a rank of Grade 7 or higher and at least three years of service experience; employees of government-invested institutions, affiliated research institutes, or local public enterprises in technical positions with a rank of Grade 5 or higher, or those with equivalent or greater experience; full-time lecturers or above at universities who are majors in the relevant field; registered engineers or holders of doctoral degrees with at least one year of service experience; executives or employees of specialized institutions or organizations in the relevant field; or members of civic groups or others deemed necessary for a fair review.
Additionally, the rule mandates that experts in each relevant field be evenly represented among the proposal evaluation committee members.
In a phone interview, the person in charge of the project said, "I was aware of the rule regarding ensuring diversity among evaluators," but added, "There was not enough time to push the project forward, so we could not comply with all regulations."
Regarding this, some argue that it cannot be considered a "sweep" because, although the evaluators were composed solely of sound supervisors, under Seo-gu's own rules they qualify as national or local civil servants, or employees of government-invested/affiliated institutions and local public enterprises.
On the other hand, experts in the media infrastructure industry assessed that Seo-gu failed to ensure diversity among evaluators. "To use an analogy with automobiles, sound supervisors are like drivers. If a public project deciding which car to buy conducts evaluations solely by drivers while excluding vehicle design, manufacturing, and maintenance engineers, there will inevitably be limits to reviewing the structural and functional safety of the vehicle," they said.
New Suspicion: 'They Didn't Even Read the Evaluator Application Emails'
Seo-gu stated that it accepted applications for proposal evaluators for this project via email.
However, tip-offs followed one after another stating, "We sent emails applying to be evaluators, but Seo-gu did not view them." If the tip-offs are true, Seo-gu would have handled the application process unfairly in order to constitute the proposal evaluation committee with sound supervisors.
However, the email read-receipt function may not work properly depending on the settings of the recipient's server.
Therefore, tip-off providers unanimously stated that it is necessary to verify through an audit or investigation whether the person in charge fairly viewed and processed all evaluator application emails.
On the other hand, the person in charge of the project denied the tip-offs were true, saying, "I checked all the received evaluator application emails."
Tip-off providers raised their voices, saying, "It has been revealed that Seo-gu forced the project forward while violating local government contract laws and its own rules. There are also suspicions that it did not fairly handle the self-recruitment of proposal evaluators. Incheon Metropolitan City, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and the Board of Audit and Inspection of Korea should audit the project, and if it is revealed that evaluator application emails were not processed properly, they should refer the case to investigative agencies to probe bid interference."
They also suggested, "When local governments self-recruit proposal evaluators, the email-based application method carries a risk of omission due to intent or negligence," adding, "It is necessary to build and operate a nationwide integrated system that supports the self-recruitment of proposal evaluators by the government, local governments, and public institutions."
Meanwhile, The Fair Economy asked Kang Beom-seok, the district governor who held final approval authority over the project, for his position on multiple occasions, but he has not provided an answer to date.
According to the "Decree on Accounting Management of Local Governments," a decree of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, basic local governments such as cities, counties, and districts must have the head of the government directly approve budget execution for the purchase of goods exceeding 500 million won.
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