Gyeonggi-do Requests "Authority to Sanction Private Construction Sites"... Proposes 'Legal Amendments' to Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

36.8% of Nationwide Construction Sites Concentrated in the Capital Area... 58% Focused in Gyeonggi Region
Annual Average of 126 Fatalities in Provincial Accidents... 97.6% Occur at Private Construction Sites

File photo [Asia Economy DB]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] Gyeonggi Province has decided to push for a revision of the law to expand the 'construction safety corrective action authority' over private construction sites in metropolitan local governments.

Gyeonggi Province announced on the 10th, stating, "We plan to request the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to amend the 'Construction Technology Promotion Act' to overcome the limitations of the current law and reduce fatalities at construction sites."

The proposal includes partially revising Article 53 'Deficient Measurement of Construction Work, etc.' and Article 54 'Inspection of Construction Sites, etc.' of the 'Construction Technology Promotion Act' to grant metropolitan local governments the authority to conduct on-site inspections and impose penalties such as demerit points on private construction sites.

The targets are construction sites ordered by basic local governments such as cities and counties, as well as private construction sites that have received permits and approvals.

According to the province, the current 'Construction Technology Promotion Act' limits the inspection authority of private construction sites to the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the ordering agency, and the head of the permitting authority (city or county). Metropolitan local government heads cannot independently conduct inspections or impose sanctions.

The background of this claim by the province is that 36.8% of the nation's construction sites are concentrated in the metropolitan area, and 58% of metropolitan construction sites are concentrated in the Gyeonggi region (as of November 2021).

Additionally, with only about ten inspection personnel at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, there is a shortage of inspection staff relative to the number of construction sites, making it difficult to respond promptly to on-site situations.

South Korea recorded 506 construction industry fatalities annually, ranking second among OECD countries (based on 2017 data), and the number of fatalities per 10,000 regular workers ranked third within the OECD (based on 2015 data).

In particular, in Gyeonggi Province, an average of 126 construction site fatalities occurred annually over the past three years (2018?2020), with private construction sites accounting for 97.6% of these deaths.

Park Jong-geun, head of the Construction Safety Technology Division, said, "Worker safety management is no longer solely a national responsibility but a cooperative task between the national and local governments," adding, "Through the revision of related laws, we will secure the effectiveness of inspections by expanding the province's inspection and sanction authority and ensure that education and related regulations are disseminated on-site."

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