Kwon Ik-wi "Abolition of Facility Business Unfair"... Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport "Will Request Reconsideration"

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Jiwon] On the 5th, when the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) expressed the opinion to postpone the timing of abolishing the Facility Maintenance Business (Facility Business), which is a major part of the construction industry restructuring plan, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) stated, "We plan to request a reconsideration."

MOLIT has been promoting the restructuring of construction business sectors and types since 2018, consolidating 28 out of 29 types of specialized construction businesses into 14 types through major sector integration, allowing free mutual market entry.

The Facility Maintenance Business, which was not integrated into the major sectors among specialized construction businesses, was decided to be abolished. The reason is that with the abolition of comprehensive and specialized sectors, all construction companies can participate in the maintenance sector currently performed by the Facility Business, so there is no practical benefit in maintaining the Facility Business as a separate sector or type.

In response, the Facility Business industry opposed the sudden transition to a sector that includes new construction, arguing that it could accelerate management difficulties, and applied for relief to the ACRC.

The ACRC accepted the industry's claims and recommended postponing the abolition of the Facility Business until the end of 2029, while further collecting industry opinions and preparing solutions until then.

The ACRC explained, "Considering the increasing ratio of aging facilities among large SOC facilities and the importance of facility maintenance, a cautious approach to sector abolition is necessary." It also judged that MOLIT did not properly collect industry opinions during the restructuring process.

On the same day, MOLIT rebutted through a press release, stating, "We have continuously collected opinions from the Facility Association and individual operators to prepare the Facility Business restructuring plan."

It further explained, "To professionally foster the maintenance market, we are promoting the advancement of maintenance by specifying the definition of maintenance under the Construction Industry Basic Act, managing maintenance construction performance by detailed work types, and introducing specialized safety inspection institutions."

MOLIT said, "We will continue to listen to the industry's opinions to resolve difficulties related to the sector transition of the Facility Maintenance Business," and added, "We plan to request a reconsideration regarding the ACRC's expression of opinion."

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