Construction Association: "Facility Maintenance Industry Abolition Should Proceed Without Grace Period"

The Korea Construction Association stated on the 12th that the abolition of the Facility Maintenance Business (Facility Business), a key part of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's restructuring plan for the construction industry, should be carried out as scheduled without any postponement.

In a press release issued that day, the association said, "Regarding the Facility Business, which is set to be abolished from 2024, the recent decision by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission to defer abolition until 2029 requires reconsideration."

Until now, the Facility Business has been plagued by ambiguous scopes of work, leading to ongoing conflicts with existing construction businesses. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has promoted the restructuring of the Facility Business as part of efforts to resolve these issues and innovate the construction production system.

However, on the 28th of last month, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission resolved on the objection filed by 24,535 Facility Business workers regarding the abolition of the Facility Maintenance Business, stating, "The validity period of the Facility Business should be deferred until the end of 2029, and detailed implementation plans should be discussed."

The association argued, "The restructuring of the Facility Business aims to fundamentally resolve the ongoing conflicts with existing construction businesses caused by ambiguous work scopes and has been promoted after long discussions as part of the construction production system innovation plan. Currently, there is still considerable confusion in orders related to facility maintenance construction, and continuing this for over eight years would rather hinder the development of the construction industry and only fuel conflicts."

The association further emphasized, "Since mutual market entry between general and specialized businesses is already permitted, it is crucial to minimize confusion. Therefore, the decision by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission needs to be reconsidered."

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport stated, "We plan to continue consultations regarding the opinions expressed by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission," and added, "We will also keep listening to industry opinions to resolve difficulties related to the industry's transition."

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