56 Companies Rush to Join Gyeonggi Province's Public Delivery App Consortium

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park No-hun] Korea Gyeonggi Province Co., Ltd. closed the deadline on the 25th for recruiting consortium member companies for the 'Public Delivery App Construction Project (tentative name)' being pursued to enhance residents' convenience and protect the rights and interests of platform workers and small business owners.

A total of 56 companies participated in the proposals, including 10 lead companies such as KB Bank, NHN Payco (along with GS Retail, Mesh Korea Inc., and 26 other companies), Interpark, and Kona AI (along with CNT Tech and 4 other companies).

Earlier, Governor Lee Jae-myung stated, "The public delivery app is not a case of the public encroaching on the private market, but rather building a system that benefits restaurants, workers, and consumers alike by utilizing public assets such as regional currencies," emphasizing the development of the public delivery app from the perspective of digital infrastructure.

Korea Gyeonggi Province Co., Ltd. analyzed that the successful closure of this recruitment was driven by the 'market potential' of Gyeonggi Province, Korea's largest metropolitan local government, and the 'opportunity' to enter the O2O market, which has grown significantly due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic.

Among the 10 consortiums (companies) that participated in the recruitment, 7 consortiums (companies) that passed the document screening will undergo evaluation by a review panel composed of experts from various fields including IT, management, public relations, and industry on July 3. Korea Gyeonggi Province Co., Ltd. will sign an agreement with the preferred negotiation partner selected through the presentation evaluation.

Registration for pilot operation areas of the public delivery app, recruited from local governments within the province, has also closed. A total of 6 local governments, including Hwaseong City and Siheung City, participated. Korea Gyeonggi Province Co., Ltd. plans to select some of these local governments and launch the pilot project around September.

Lee Seok-hun, CEO of Korea Gyeonggi Province Co., Ltd., stated, "Through the active inquiries from companies during the consortium recruitment process, I felt a heavy sense of responsibility for realizing a just society," and added, "We will present a successful delivery app by blending private capital and technology with Gyeonggi Province's regional currency and data."

Meanwhile, this project was initiated in response to the delivery app commission fee controversy that erupted in April, with the aim of preventing the adverse effects of monopolization in the platform market and creating a new alternative for consumers, small business owners, and platform workers.

Digital SOC (Public Delivery App, tentative name) Consortium Member Application Status (Total 56 companies, in order of receipt)

□ NHN Payco (Mesh Korea Inc., PosBank Inc., GS Retail, Genesis BBQ, Korea Restaurant Association Gyeonggi Province Chapter, and 21 other companies)

□ RichBeam (Galaxia Communications Co., Ltd.)

□ Kona AI (CNT Tech, KoPay, Smart Data, Se Chingu)

□ KSNET (Withwith, Rocks307)

□ Interpark

□ KG Inicis (SK Planet Inc., Manna Planet Inc., BBDI Korea Inc.)

□ Danal (Fovis T&C;, Metanet M Platform, Spidercraft)

□ KIS Information & Communication (Honeybiz, Small Business Owner Union, Kyonggi University Industry-Academic Cooperation Division, JT Net)

□ Daily Blockchain (Ins Information Media, Welcome Payments Inc., Hidden Grace Inc.)

□ KB Bank