One company to be selected and promoted each month based on pilot purchase outcomes and technological innovation
South Korea's Public Procurement Service has named the inaugural recipient of its "Innovation Procurement Top Tier" designation, a program designed to spotlight outstanding innovative companies that have improved public services and achieved growth through the innovation procurement system.
The agency selected Angel Robotics as the first Top Tier honoree on Thursday and held a plaque presentation ceremony to mark the occasion.
The Public Procurement Service selects Top Tier companies from among firms that have received a successful rating under the innovative product pilot-use contract program, evaluating them across four criteria: innovation (30 points), growth potential (30 points), public value (20 points) and public resonance (20 points).
Angel Robotics earned the inaugural designation in recognition of its wearable robot technology, which detects a user's walking intent and supports the rehabilitation and daily recovery of patients with gait disorders and lower-limb paralysis.
The company also drew high marks for demonstrating strong practical utility through field trials at public medical facilities, and for consistently expanding its overseas presence and commercialization base on the strength of those results.
The Top Tier plaque was designed with the participation of Lee Seok-woo, the designer behind the medals for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, giving the piece a refined look that conveys both corporate pride and official government recognition.
The plaque is intended to serve as more than a simple marker or decoration — for the company, it is a badge of pride and celebration honoring the hard-fought effort and achievement of innovation; for the public, it is a mark of trust signaling that the government has recognized superior technology and public value.
Starting with this first recipient, the Public Procurement Service plans to select one company per month, present each with a plaque, and produce a range of content — including interviews and videos — to help the public follow each company's and product's growth journey, promoting them in a focused and sustained way.
The agency also plans to actively promote selected companies' products to public institutions through special exhibitions on the innovation marketplace platform, and to provide follow-up support such as bonus points when selected companies participate in agency commendation programs and trade exhibitions.
Kong Kyung-chul, director of the Future Technology Institute at Angel Robotics, said it was deeply meaningful to be named the first Top Tier company after years of conducting field trials at public medical facilities in line with the government's innovation procurement system. "We are keenly aware of the standards and responsibilities that the public procurement system demands, and we will continue to be a wearable robot company that earns trust in the field," he added.
Public Procurement Service Commissioner Baek Seung-bo said the Top Tier designation goes beyond simple product promotion. "It is about sharing with the public the process by which innovative companies' efforts translate into improvements in public services and people's quality of life," he said. "We will continue to strengthen systematic support and promotion so that outstanding innovative products can grow beyond the public market and into global markets."
kwonhl@heraldcorp.com
