
S. Korea, Uzbekistan sign MOU on public procurement cooperation
South Korea's Public Procurement Service (PPS) and Uzbekistan's Ministry of Economy and Finance held a bilateral meeting on cooperation in public procurement and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in the Central Asian country last week, the PPS said Monday.
The meeting between PPS Administrator Lim Ki-keun and Uzbekistan's Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance Gulnora Rakhimova took place in Tashkent last Friday, the PPS said.
Under the MOU signed by Lim and Rakhimova, the two organizations will cooperate to share public procurement system information, including electronic procurement, provide information necessary for establishing and improving the electronic procurement system, and stimulate corporate participation in the public procurement market, the PPS said.
Lim's visit to Uzbekistan came after he held bilateral talks with Rakhimova during the International Procurement Workshop jointly organized by the Asian Development Bank and the PPS in Seoul in September last year.
"Following an MOU signed last year with Kyrgyzstan, full-scale exports of the electronic procurement system are under way this year. The MOU with Uzbekistan will help further expand Korea's public procurement cooperation in Central Asia," Lim said. (Yonhap)
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Korea Herald
3 days ago
- Korea Herald
S. Korea vows closer talks with US on FX policy following monitoring list status
The Ministry of Economy and Finance vowed Friday to enhance communications with the United States to strengthen mutual understanding and trust regarding foreign exchange rate policies. The pledge came after the US Treasury Department kept South Korea on its monitoring list for currency practices. Seoul was reinstated on the list in November 2024 after being removed in November 2023 for the first time since April 2016. "We will continue to expand mutual understanding and trust regarding exchange rate policies through regular communication with the US Treasury Department," the ministry said in a press release. "Ongoing discussions between the Korean and US financial authorities on exchange rate issues will also be conducted thoroughly," it added. Currency policy has been one of the key topics in bilateral negotiations related to US President Donald Trump's administration's sweeping tariff measures. In April, the two countries agreed to focus their talks on four categories -- tariff and non-tariff measures, economic security, investment cooperation and currency policy. They aim to reach a "package" agreement by July 8, when the 90-day suspension of Washington's tariff implementation is set to expire. Last month, South Korea's Deputy Finance Minister Choi Ji-young met with US Treasury Assistant Secretary for International Finance Robert Kaproth on the sidelines of the 58th Asian Development Bank Annual Meeting in Milan to discuss currency-related issues. (Yonhap)


Korea Herald
29-05-2025
- Korea Herald
Lee Jae-myung pushes to split Finance Ministry's budget powers
Proposal seeks to divide policy planning, budgeting to enhance parliamentary oversight Presidential front-runner Rep. Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea has proposed a large-scale restructuring of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, advocating for the separation of the ministry's budget authority from its policy planning function in a bid to decentralize power and strengthen legislative oversight. Speaking during a live YouTube broadcast on Wednesday, Lee argued that 'splitting the Finance Ministry's budget functions is necessary to break its monopoly over financial policy and budget formulation.' He also highlighted the muddled situations in oversight, including that, 'domestic financial policies are managed by the Financial Services Commission, while overseas policies are handled by the ministry.' The Ministry of Economy and Finance is one of the country's most powerful agencies, with its minister serving as deputy prime minister. It manages the government's fiscal affairs, including budgeting, taxation and financial policy, and plays a central role in drafting and reviewing the national budget and shaping overall economic direction. Lee's proposal aligns with a broader party platform aimed at improving government efficiency. It envisions a comprehensive restructuring in which the Finance Ministry would focus solely on economic policy and planning, while budgetary oversight would be reinforced through enhanced parliamentary involvement. The presidential hopeful has long championed this stance, criticizing the ministry's 'monarch-like' control over state finances — a refrain he has repeated since his previous presidential campaign. The Democratic Party is reportedly reviewing options to divide the Finance Ministry into two entities, resembling the structure in place before 2008. Under the proposed plan, the Planning and Budget Office would be moved under either the Prime Minister's Office or the President's Office, while the remaining ministry would retain fiscal management duties. Historically, Korea's budget and fiscal planning functions have undergone several structural changes. They were originally housed in separate agencies following the establishment of the Korea Institute of Economic Planning in 1961. The functions were unified under President Kim Young-sam (1993–1998), split again under Presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun, and then reintegrated during President Lee Myung-bak's administration in 2008 — where they remain combined to this day. Momentum for change has been growing since early April, with key legislative proposals highlighting bipartisan frustration over what many view as excessive concentration of authority within the Finance Ministry. Democratic lawmakers Rep. Huh Seong-moo and Rep. Oh Ki-hyeon recently introduced legislation aimed at dividing the ministry, echoing wider concern over its dominance in budget allocation and policy control. The ministry has frequently clashed with progressive administrations, resisting policies such as COVID-19 relief payouts and asserting control over fiscal decisions. In 2020, then-Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki publicly opposed universal relief grants, prompting Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun to question whether 'this is the Finance Ministry's country.' Lee, who was Gyeonggi Province governor at the time, also criticized the ministry: 'This country does not belong to the Finance Ministry. It belongs to the people.' In a recent report on Korea's 2025 fiscal plan, the National Assembly Budget Office highlighted persistent limitations in the current budget allocation system. It called for reforms to strengthen legislative oversight and improve fiscal transparency. While the government has implemented a top-down 'total expenditure allocation system' — setting overall spending limits before allocating funds by sector and project — the Finance Ministry continues to review detailed budget requests from individual departments, which limits those agencies' financial autonomy. The report also noted that the ministry does not report departmental expenditure limits to the National Assembly's Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, thereby constraining lawmakers' ability to oversee the total fiscal framework.


Korea Herald
26-05-2025
- Korea Herald
Daewoo E&C signs $784 m contract to build fertilizer plant in Turkmenistan
Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co. said Monday it has signed a $784 million deal to build a large-scale mineral fertilizer plant in Turkmenistan, marking the company's first major project in Central Asia. The South Korean builder said that the final contract was signed Saturday with Turkmenhimiya, a state-owned chemical company of Turkmenistan. The signing ceremony, held in the Central Asian nation, was attended by Daewoo E&C Chief Executive Officer Kim Bo-hyun. Daewoo E&C was selected as the preferred bidder for the project in October and signed a framework agreement last month. The plant will be constructed in Turkmenabat, the country's second-largest city located about 450 kilometers east of the capital Ashgabat, with a capacity to produce 350,000 tons of phosphate fertilizer and 100,000 tons of ammonium sulfate annually. The contract is equivalent to roughly 10 percent of Daewoo E&C's annual sales for 2024. The project is scheduled to be completed 37 months after groundbreaking. The company said it plans to use the opportunity to actively expand its presence in the region, targeting further contracts in petrochemical and fertilizer-related sectors, as well as urban development projects. "We will mobilize the full capabilities of our organization to deliver a world-class facility," a company official said. "We also aim to strengthen our global presence through additional overseas projects in countries such as Iraq, Nigeria and Libya this year." (Yonhap)