Sangsoo Kim, President of the Korea Construction Association, "Please Increase Next Year's SOC Budget to 30 Trillion Won"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] The construction industry has requested the government to increase the budget for social overhead capital (SOC) to 30 trillion won next year.

Kim Sang-soo, president of the Korea Construction Association, held his first press conference since taking office on the 13th and said, "The prolonged outbreak of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) has led to a long-term economic downturn," adding, "If the SOC-related budget in the scheduled 2021 government budget is increased, it will not only revitalize the struggling construction industry but also the national economy." Kim took office as the 28th president of the Construction Association last March.

Kim explained the background of the request to increase the SOC budget by saying, "Due to the impact of COVID-19, there is an emergency in managing domestic construction sites, and the construction industry is also shrinking."

From the beginning of this year until August, the number of housing permits was 257,294 units, which is 34.0% less compared to the recent 5-year average (389,845 units) for the same period. The number of construction industry workers until July was 2,020,900, a decrease of 23,000 (1.1%) compared to the same period last year. According to data released last month by the Construction Industry Research Institute, construction investment is expected to decrease by 4.3 trillion won next year compared to this year, and employment is expected to decrease by 26,000 workers.

Kim asserted, "The government's SOC budget of 26 trillion won for next year should be increased by the expected decrease in construction investment of 4.3 trillion won." He explained that expanding public medical facilities could lead to an increase in direct and indirect production of over 7 trillion won and create employment for more than 40,000 people.

Kim also expressed concerns about construction-related bills focusing on 'strengthening regulations and penalties.' Bills such as the Construction Safety Special Act, which punishes CEOs in case of fatal accidents, and the amendment to the Industrial Safety and Health Act, which includes imprisonment for employers when workers die, have been proposed.

He pointed out, "The direction of the Construction Safety Special Act is similar to the current Industrial Safety and Health Act," adding, "Although it imposes strong criminal penalties for violations, the obligations of the primary and subcontractors are unclear, which may violate the principle of clarity. If the bill is enacted, it will only increase confusion at construction sites."

Kim also plans to actively work on raising the association's status. He emphasized, "The Construction Association used to be part of the five major economic organizations, but now it has fallen behind as the number of economic organizations has increased to seven or eight," and said, "I will actively strive to raise the association's status."

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