South Korea Eases Rules for Privately Funded Public Software

How the model works

In these projects, a private company invests its own funds and technology up front to build a public information system, then recovers the investment during operation. The arrangement can extend from development through operation, maintenance and service upgrades.

There are two types. In the lease type, public agencies pay rent or similar fees. In the revenue type, costs are covered by user fees, advertising or other business income. Projects can start from a private proposal or be planned directly by the government.

Guide 3.0 spells out practical procedures for lease-type projects, including how agencies request funding, how performance evaluation committees operate, evaluation criteria, and how government payments vary with results. Standard implementation agreements and guidance on cost adjustments will also be updated.

Flexibility and examples

Lee Seok-jun, a senior official at the National Information Society Agency, said agreements and business plans can be changed after signing, for example because of technology upgrades. Changes go through consultation with the competent authority or ministry review to assess risk-sharing between public and private parties. Payback periods and returns are set in individual agreements, and feasibility reviews check how realistic the revenue forecasts are.

Two candidate projects were presented. Jeonnam-Gwangju's AI administration office outlined a unified public facility booking service funded by advertising, rewards and local product sales, with roughly 5 billion won in in-kind private investment and a pilot targeted for 2027. The Gwangju lifelong education agency proposed a lease-type platform that links learning records from universities and training bodies and certifies them with digital badges. Feasibility and profitability of both remain under review.