Daily NK has obtained the complete text of North Korea’s 2022 Procurement Act, which outlines the management and supervision of state procurement activities and establishes both civil and administrative penalties.
The law notably establishes distinct categories of state procurement while allowing for various procurement methods, apparently aimed at strengthening state economic planning.
Article 3 defines two types of procurement: “planned procurement,” which is directed by state planning organizations, and “free procurement,” which allows for voluntary contracts between procurement agents and companies.
Articles 4 and 6 establish conditions for agents to actively seek resources and participate voluntarily in procurement activities, enabling mutual benefit among involved parties.
Article 12 addresses free procurement contracts, allowing voluntary agreements between agents and companies. For cooperative bodies acting as procurement agents, written contracts are preferred but verbal agreements are permitted when necessary.
Article 27 outlines pricing mechanisms. While planned procurement prices are set by state pricing authorities, free procurement prices can be negotiated between agents and companies. The law requires state pricing bodies to set reasonable rates that ensure genuine benefits for participating organizations and individuals.
“Although this act maintains centralized control over both planned and free procurement, it shows limited tolerance for market-based economic activity. Despite using the term ‘free procurement,’ such freedom remains constrained within the planned system,” said Hwang Hyun-uk, senior researcher at Daily NK’s AND Center.
“The regime is centralizing procurement planning and pricing authority while emphasizing specialized procurement companies. This suggests an intention to directly control all procurement activities. Free transactions appear to be permitted only within very narrow bounds,” Hwang explained.
The act reveals North Korea’s strategy to organize procurement through total national mobilization, transforming civilians from passive resource providers into active participants in resource discovery and mobilization.
Article 4 emphasizes this public mobilization, stating that “it has been the consistent policy of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to hold procurement projects as mass campaigns for actively finding the raw materials and sources needed for production.”
Article 21 further requires local people’s committees and related organizations to “increase procurement propaganda so that all citizens may be mobilized to collect material sources in procurement projects.”
“The regime clearly aims to mobilize national resources and manpower by framing procurement as a mass campaign requiring public participation. This effectively creates compulsory mobilization under the guise of voluntary involvement,” Hwang noted.
Articles 37-42 outline punishments—including fines, confiscation, warnings, and unpaid labor—for those who fail to meet or delay procurement plans, reflecting the regime’s determination to maintain order and ensure thorough implementation of procurement projects.
The Korean language version of the act can be found here.
Daily NK works with a network of sources in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. For security reasons, their identities remain anonymous.
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December 11, 2024 at 05:30AM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)