Korean firms' UN procurement wins rise 14%, hitting 10-year high

South Korean companies' contract wins in the UN procurement market grew more than 14 percent last year, reaching a 10-year high, while the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency announced plans to expand support for small and midsize Korean firms seeking to enter overseas public procurement markets.

KOTRA signed an MOU with the Government Procurement Export Promotion Association on Friday at its headquarters to boost Korean companies' access to overseas procurement markets, the agency announced Sunday.

According to the Public Procurement Service, Korean companies secured $346 million in UN procurement contracts last year, up 14.2 percent from $303 million the previous year.

The country's ranking also climbed from 25th in 2024 to 18th last year. Both the contract value and the country ranking are the highest recorded in the past decade.

The overseas public procurement market is where governments, public institutions and international organizations purchase goods and services. Unlike conventional exports, bidding procedures and contract terms vary by contracting authority, and the process from bid to signed contract often takes considerable time.

Small and midsize companies with limited overseas procurement experience can face particular difficulties — from gathering bid information and verifying eligibility requirements to preparing contracts. KOTRA said it decided to partner with the Government Procurement Export Promotion Association to lower those barriers to entry.

Under the agreement, KOTRA will use its overseas network and local market intelligence to provide Korean companies with public procurement and bidding information from countries around the world. The agency also plans to run export consultation events connecting overseas contracting authorities with Korean firms, along with tailored support programs for individual companies.

The Government Procurement Export Promotion Association will identify member companies and other firms with strong overseas expansion potential, and provide specialized training for international bidding. It will also share overseas procurement information and recruit companies to participate in export consultation events organized by KOTRA.

The two organizations agreed to jointly identify procurement projects led by international bodies such as the UN and multilateral development banks. They plan to build an integrated support system spanning company identification, training, overseas bid information and on-site export consultations.

Through the partnership, KOTRA aims to reduce the preparation burden for companies entering overseas procurement markets for the first time, while expanding contract opportunities for firms that already have overseas procurement experience.

"As Korean companies accumulate more experience in overseas markets, their performance in procurement markets run by international organizations such as the UN is growing," said Kim Myung-hee, KOTRA executive vice president and head of the Industrial Innovation and Growth Division. "We will do our utmost to support Korean companies in achieving even greater results in overseas procurement markets through this MOU and our cooperation with a specialized procurement organization."