Lee Jun-seok says AI uncovered W562.8b in suspected budget waste in one month

Reform Party lawmaker Lee Jun-seok said he used AI and data analysis technology to identify about 560 billion won ($418 million) in suspected budget waste on Narajangteo, the Public Procurement Service's online marketplace. The Reform Party is also launching a project that rewards members of the public for uncovering wasteful public contracts on their own.

According to the Reform Party, Lee's office recently conducted a comprehensive review of public contract data on Narajangteo using AI tools and a data collection and analysis program it developed in-house. The analysis covered about 1.05 million products and 2.8 million delivery orders, with total contract value reaching around 130 trillion won.

After roughly a month of analysis, Lee's office said it had identified a total of 562.8 billion won in suspected budget waste. Lee and one aide carried out the work themselves, from data collection and building the analytical framework to developing an AI-powered search tool.

Among the cases cited were contracts in which government agencies purchased goods identical or similar to products available on ordinary online shopping platforms at prices several times to dozens of times higher than market rates. Other examples included contracts that continued to procure software at old, higher unit prices even after market prices had fallen, and bids structured with conditions that effectively limited supply to a single vendor.

The 562.8 billion won figure was derived from the office's own analysis, however, and additional verification would be needed to confirm whether the spending actually constitutes waste and to determine the true scale.

To broaden the scope of the investigation, the Reform Party will hold a public participation event called the "50 Trillion Won Hunt: Narajangteo Hackathon." The event runs from Oct. 12 to Oct. 25 and is open to anyone, including developers, university students and members of the general public.

Participants can use raw public contract data and application programming interfaces provided on the event's website to find and submit contracts priced excessively above market rates. Cases validated through AI and staff review will qualify for a share of a 10 million won prize pool, distributed in proportion to the value of the contracts each submission identifies. Strong findings will be used by Lee to raise questions with the government during the upcoming national audit.

The party is also stepping up outreach to drive participation. Reform Party Emergency Committee Chair Lee Gi-in has put up banners in the Pangyo Techno Valley area and near universities in southern Gyeonggi Province. Lee Jun-seok also plans to promote the event personally in his constituency of Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province.

"Is there anyone who buys something without checking Coupang Inc first?" Lee said. "Ordinary people scour the internet for the lowest price to save 1,000 won on delivery, even 100 won — yet the government has been paying tax money for overpriced goods that a single search would flag." He added: "We didn't dig up classified documents. We simply read the Narajangteo data the government had already made public, all the way to the end."

"The problem isn't that the national treasury is empty — it's that the back door has been left open," he added. "The Reform Party, together with the entire nation, will make sure that open back door is firmly shut."