How do public tenders work in South Korea?

Law and buyers

Central government contracts are governed by the Act on Contracts to Which the State is a Party (국가를 당사자로 하는 계약에 관한 법률), its Enforcement Decree and a Special Decree for contracts covered by the WTO Government Procurement Agreement and free trade agreements (특정조달, specific procurement). Local governments follow a parallel act for local contracts, and public institutions such as state-owned enterprises have their own rules. Contract policy sits with the Ministry of Finance and Economy (재정경제부), which took over contract policy on 2 January 2026 when the former Ministry of Economy and Finance (기획재정부) was split. The Public Procurement Service (조달청, PPS) is the central purchasing agency: it runs tenders for other agencies, signs framework contracts and runs an online shopping mall of pre-contracted products. Military procurement is handled by the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).[1][2][3][12]

Where tenders are published

Bid notices must by law be published on KONEPS (나라장터, g2b.go.kr), the PPS e-procurement system used by central agencies, local governments and state-owned enterprises. KONEPS covers the whole process from notice and bidding to contract, inspection and payment, and a one-time registration gives access to all bidding opportunities on it. Bids are normally submitted electronically through KONEPS, which requires a digital certificate accepted by the system; for international tenders the buyer may also allow bids in person or by post. International notices carry a short summary in English, French or Spanish. Defence tenders run through the separate D2B system of DAPA, and some state-owned enterprises use their own supplier portals in addition.[2][3][6][13]

Procedures and thresholds

The law knows three methods: open competitive bidding (일반경쟁입찰), the norm; restricted or designated competitive bidding (제한경쟁입찰, 지명경쟁입찰) limited to suppliers that meet set conditions or are invited; and negotiated contracts (수의계약) in listed cases such as emergencies, a single possible supplier or small amounts. For complex services, contracts by negotiation (협상에 의한 계약) evaluate technical proposals before price. Above the thresholds set by the finance ministry, contracts are tendered internationally (국제입찰) under the Special Decree, which forbids requiring domestic track records unless essential. For goods and services the award usually goes to the lowest bidder within the estimated price who passes a contract-performance capability review (적격심사); large construction projects from KRW 10 billion use comprehensive evaluation (종합심사낙찰제).[1][2][3][5]

Documents and language

Before bidding you must register as a bidder on KONEPS (입찰참가자격 등록), at the latest the day before the bid date. Domestic companies register with their business registration and licences; foreign companies with facilities abroad can register as suppliers located abroad (국외소재업체) to take part directly in international tenders. Registration needs company documents and an electronic certificate for signing bids. The tender notice lists further requirements, such as licences for construction work, performance records, technical documents and a bid bond (입찰보증금). In specific procurement, Korean is the default language, although a buyer may allow English, French or Spanish where that is unavoidable. Foreign documents usually need a certified Korean translation; check the notice for apostille or notarisation.[2][3][6][7]

Deadlines, award and challenges

For international tenders the notice must be published on KONEPS at least 40 days before the bid deadline. This can be cut to 10 days in urgency or after a procurement plan notice, and by five days each for electronic publication and electronic documents. Domestic tenders need at least seven days, more for construction (15 days from KRW 1 billion and 40 days from KRW 5 billion without a site briefing). The award usually goes to the lowest bid within the estimated price that passes the capability review, or to the best combined score in comprehensive evaluation. Suppliers can file an objection (이의신청) with the procuring agency within 30 days of the contested act or 25 days of learning of it, and then request review by the National Contract Dispute Mediation Committee (국가계약분쟁조정위원회) within 30 days.[1][2][3]

How to win a tender in South Korea

The bid notice states how you win. Most goods and services contracts go to the lowest bidder within the estimated price who passes the contract-performance capability review (적격심사), which scores track record, technical capability, financial condition, past compliance and the bid price itself. For specialised or technical goods and services, contracts by negotiation (협상에 의한 계약) are used: a proposal evaluation committee (제안서평가위원회) scores proposals and price against criteria bidders can see in advance, and the buyer then negotiates with the qualified candidates. Large works and some services use comprehensive evaluation (종합심사낙찰제), where the highest combined score wins. Before many tenders the buyer posts draft specifications on KONEPS (사전규격공개) so suppliers can comment; use it to challenge restrictive requirements; after the notice, raise questions with the buyer and attend any proposal or site briefing. To know the buyer, study its earlier bid opening results (개찰결과) on KONEPS, which show rankings and winning prices. Answer the proposal request item by item with evidence, in Korean. Bids fail when registration is not complete by the day before the bid date, the bid bond or certificates are missing, or the price fails the capability review. For covered contracts the GPA lets you ask why your bid lost.[2][8][9][11]

1. Read the bid notice to see whether 적격심사, negotiation or comprehensive evaluation applies.
2. Comment on draft specifications during KONEPS pre-disclosure (사전규격공개).
3. Study the buyer's earlier bid opening results (개찰결과) on KONEPS.
4. Answer every item in the proposal request with Korean-language evidence.
5. Complete KONEPS registration, certificate and bid bond well before the bid date.
6. Ask for the reasons after losing and diarise the objection deadline.

Clarification round: Comments on the pre-disclosed specifications (사전규격공개) on KONEPS, questions on the notice and proposal request (질의응답), and the proposal or site briefing (제안요청 설명, 현장설명)

Tips for bidders

Register on KONEPS well before the first tender you want to bid on, because registration must be complete by the day before the bid date and the certificate setup can take time for foreign firms. Watch the PPS online shopping mall and multiple-award schedule contracts (다수공급자계약), because much routine buying goes through them rather than individual tenders. Read the full Korean notice, not just the foreign-language summary, because only the Korean notice has all the conditions. Check whether the tender is restricted to companies in a region or to small and medium-sized enterprises, which is common below the international thresholds. For larger construction and engineering projects a Korean partner is often needed for licences and site work. Diarise the short objection windows.[2][3][6]

Platforms in South Korea

This country does not publish on TED, so there are no shares. These are the platforms from our market map, public ones first.

• D2B Defense e-Procurement System (국방전자조달시스템)

  First register on KONEPS (Nara Marketplace) with a paid business certificate, then create a D2B user account; foreign suppliers follow a separate overseas registration.

  How it works →Website

• KONEPS / Nara Marketplace (나라장터)

  Register with PPS as a bidder before bidding; foreign bidders may complete registration before contract signature and need a digital certificate for e-bidding on KONEPS.

  How it works →Website

• S2B (학교장터)

  Schools buy small contracts here; suppliers register on S2B and log in with a Korean business joint certificate (공동인증서); personal certificates are not accepted.

  How it works →Website

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. Act on Contracts to Which the State is a Party, art. 4, 8, 28, 29 (law.go.kr)
2. Enforcement Decree of the Act on Contracts to Which the State is a Party, art. 26, 35, 39, 42, 110 (law.go.kr)
3. Special Decree on specific procurement (특정조달을 위한 국가를 당사자로 하는 계약에 관한 법률 시행령 특례규정), art. 7, 8, 9, 11
4. Ministry of Economy and Finance (기획재정부) press release: international bidding thresholds for 2025-2026 (24 Dec 2024; figures in the attached file)
5. KDI Economic Information Center: ministry press release on the 2025-2026 international bidding thresholds (amounts shown on the page)
6. PPS: KONEPS (English)
7. PPS: registration of suppliers located abroad (국외소재업체)
8. Public Data Portal: PPS KONEPS pre-disclosed specifications service (조달청_나라장터 사전규격정보서비스)
9. Public Data Portal: PPS KONEPS award information service (조달청_나라장터 낙찰정보서비스)
10. KONEPS (나라장터)
11. WTO Revised Agreement on Government Procurement, Article XVI
12. Act on Contracts to Which a Local Government is a Party (지방자치단체를 당사자로 하는 계약에 관한 법률), law.go.kr
13. DAPA Defense Electronic Procurement System (방위사업청 국방전자조달시스템, D2B)

Checked on 15 October 2026. Made by TenderRender from official sources. Not legal advice: check the notice and documents of each tender.

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