Employee-led in-house task force develops 10 AI agents and 12 work programs, marking tangible progress in the agency's effort to transform how it operates
The Public Procurement Service is seeing tangible results from its internal innovation drive, which aims to boost productivity and sharpen focus on core tasks by overhauling how employees work and hold meetings.
The agency announced Tuesday that it has been running an "experimental innovation unit" since this year as part of a performance-driven organizational model, with its in-house AI development task force building and deploying a range of AI agents in day-to-day operations.
The Public Procurement Service established the in-house task force to respond swiftly to a rapidly changing environment driven by the spread of AI, using it as a testing ground for new ways of working.
The initiative carries particular significance as an attempt to move away from a rigid work culture toward one centered on results and efficiency.
The task force — staffed by procurement officials who know the agency's work best and who both identify and build AI tools themselves — has also launched a "Procurement AI Portal" to make its outputs accessible to as many employees as possible.
The portal currently hosts 10 AI agents, including tools for drafting estimated contract prices, analyzing bidder eligibility and managing materials requested by the National Assembly, along with 12 work programs such as an integrated contract management system and a unit-cost comparison tool for construction work categories.
In addition, the agency was selected in September as an operator of the Ministry of Interior and Safety's "institution-tailored AI champion" program, and plans to accelerate the development of AI talent going forward.
Since March, the agency has been identifying and eliminating unnecessary or performative tasks within the organization to improve efficiency. It has streamlined reporting and meeting practices — scrapping low-impact ceremonial events, adopting a default remote-meeting policy, expanding video conferencing and introducing a 15-minute cap on in-person meetings — as part of a broader shift toward an organizational culture that works efficiently and delivers results.
Lee Hyeong-sik, the agency's planning and coordination officer, said the Public Procurement Service plans to expand its experimental innovation units beyond AI development to cover other core business areas, and to diversify workplaces through remote work, smart work centers and workcation programs. "We will continue pursuing more innovation experiments to transform our organizational culture and create an environment where employees can fully immerse themselves in their work," he said.
kwonhl@heraldcorp.com
