[2020 Asia Construction Awards] Focus on Win-Win Cooperation for Promoting Construction Culture and Revitalization in the COVID-19 Era

Chairperson's Review Comments - Lee Jaeyoung, President of Korea Construction Industry Research Institute

Since the first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) occurred in South Korea on January 20 this year, the virus has repeatedly spread, subsided, and resurged. Amid this situation, the Bank of Korea forecasts an economic growth rate of -1.3% for this year, and the government has even prepared a 4th supplementary budget to restore domestic demand and minimize the economic recession. When announcing the Korean New Deal policy, the government allocated the 2021 social overhead capital (SOC) budget at about 26 trillion won, the largest since 2005, strongly demonstrating its determination to overcome the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite these difficult circumstances, our construction industry is expected, as it has in the past, to overcome the COVID-19 crisis, lead national economic growth, and play an important role in improving the welfare of the people.

Construction is an industry akin to a comprehensive art that embodies various values and technologies of our society, and it is an essential task for us in the construction sector to widely promote the value and importance of the construction industry to the public. Now in its 15th year, the 'Asia Construction Comprehensive Awards' has contributed to encouraging awarded construction companies and raising public awareness of the value and importance of the construction industry by selecting and rewarding the best construction companies that have strived for win-win cooperation and job creation.

This year, many companies participated in the competition across various fields such as civil engineering, architecture, housing, and plants. Activities and works in diverse areas including win-win cooperation, project implementation, overseas construction, and branding also competed. To evaluate the awards, a panel of judges composed of experts from academia and research sectors was formed, conducting independent assessments based on professionalism and fairness, considering quality, design, impact, and recognition. The overall results were compiled, and all judges gathered to select this year’s grand prize and category winners.

This year’s evaluation focused on establishing and spreading the philosophy of win-win cooperation to promote construction culture and revitalize the industry. Recently, many construction companies have made efforts to support win-win cooperation through technical, managerial, and financial assistance to medium-sized and small enterprises. Additionally, companies that demonstrated outstanding achievements in various fields such as branding and overseas construction were honored with awards. Through this Asia Construction Comprehensive Awards evaluation, it was evident that construction companies are striving for a construction culture that values integration and cooperation as well as technological innovation despite difficult conditions. When construction companies with such efforts and capabilities faithfully fulfill their roles, there will be hope for the construction industry and pride in the role of construction professionals. Thank you.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.