Gyeonggi Special Judicial Police Detect 13 Illegal Acts at Fire Facility Construction Sites

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province has uncovered a large number of construction site personnel involved in illegal activities related to fire protection facility construction, such as illegal subcontracting, at large construction sites.

The Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police Unit announced on the 15th that from June 7 to August 31, they conducted crackdowns on illegal activities related to fire protection facility construction at 50 large construction sites in the province with a total floor area of 5,000㎡ or more. As a result, 27 people at 13 construction sites were criminally charged for violations such as separate subcontracting violations, and 4 people were notified of fines for false construction commencement reports.

According to the current Fire Protection Facility Construction Business Act, fire protection facility construction must be subcontracted to fire protection facility contractors registered with the necessary qualifications, and fire protection facility construction must be separately ordered and contracted from other types of construction work.

In a major case, client A at a complex building new construction site in Hwaseong City subcontracted the entire construction work, including fire protection facility construction, to general construction company B, which is not a registered fire protection facility contractor, for 15 billion KRW, resulting in violations of fire protection facility subcontracting and separate subcontracting regulations.

General construction company C was found to have contracted the entire construction work, including fire protection facility construction, with the client at an officetel new construction site in Gimpo City without registering as a fire protection facility business, thereby conducting unregistered fire protection facility business operations.

Although subcontracting fire protection facility construction that has been separately subcontracted to a third party is prohibited, fire protection facility contractor D subcontracted the fire protection facility construction from client E at an apartment new construction site in Bucheon City and then subcontracted the fire protection facility work again to mechanical equipment contractor F, who does not have a fire protection facility business license.

Under the Fire Protection Facility Construction Business Act, clients who subcontract fire protection facility construction to unregistered companies face imprisonment of up to one year or fines up to 10 million KRW. Contractors who receive (operate) contracts without registering as a fire protection facility business face imprisonment of up to three years or fines up to 30 million KRW. Additionally, companies that subcontract separately subcontracted fire protection facility construction to a third party face imprisonment of up to one year or fines up to 10 million KRW.

Kim Min-kyung, head of the Civil Life Special Judicial Police Unit, stated, "Electrical work, information and communication work, and fire protection facility construction must be separately ordered and contracted for each type of work as they are subject to separate subcontracting." She added, "Especially, fire protection facility construction is closely related to public safety, and illegal activities detected will be strictly dealt with to prevent poor construction."

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