"Special Investigation Team Deployed to Construction Sites to Eradicate Illegal Activities... Scale Undecided"

'Q&A on Follow-up Measures to Eradicate Illegal Activities at Construction Sites'

The ruling party and the government announced on the 11th that they will deploy Special Judicial Police (Special Investigation Police) to construction sites to eradicate illegal activities such as illegal subcontracting and forced employment. They will mandate video recording at all stages of construction work and expand the application scope of electronic cards and payment systems.

A construction site of an apartment in Seoul city / Photo by Yonhap News

On the same day, the ruling party and the government announced follow-up measures to eradicate illegal activities at construction sites and hinted at the prompt revision of the 'Five Laws for Normalizing Construction Sites.'

The Special Investigation Police will have the authority to crack down on and investigate illegal activities based on their expertise in construction sites. If suspicious cases of illegal activities are detected, they can summon parties or witnesses for questioning and have the authority to conduct searches and seizures and request warrants. The scale is yet to be determined and will be decided through discussions among related agencies such as the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

The follow-up measures also include introducing devices that record and manage tower crane operations in real time and leaving video records at each stage of construction work to establish a remote monitoring system. Additionally, by expanding the application of the electronic card system and payment system, they aim to prevent wage arrears and improve working conditions, and establish grounds for punishment for interference with construction, demands or acceptance of bribes, and refusal of transportation.

Below is a Q&A with an official from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

- What do you think about the view that increasing the direct construction ratio will eliminate illegal subcontracting?

▲ No industry group has regulations prohibiting vertical division of labor. The United States mandates some direct construction obligations in public construction projects, but in principle, it is decided through market competition. If a company directly produces from start to finish, increasing customer value and meeting cost-effectiveness, other companies will fail. Therefore, mandating direct construction should be approached cautiously.

- There is a supply issue with foreign labor; are there any incentives?

▲ According to estimates by the Construction Mutual Aid Association, about 1.72 million workers are needed, but there is a shortage of about 190,000, so foreign labor must fill the gap. Construction sites involve many difficult tasks, so domestic workers tend to avoid them. Therefore, diligent foreign workers will have their working period extended from the current 4 years and 10 months to double, and the re-entry waiting period will be reduced from 6 months to 1 month. Additional improvement tasks will be identified based on research projects.

- The details on strengthening penalties are not specific.

▲ In August 2021, Assemblyman Jang Kyung-tae proposed a bill to strengthen the criteria for canceling construction business registration from a three-strike-out system to a one-strike-out system in cases of poor construction due to illegal subcontracting and resulting fatal accidents. It also includes provisions such as applying punitive damages tenfold. However, due to concerns about excessiveness, a reasonable adjustment plan will be prepared and proposed by the ruling party.

- There are concerns about construction cost increases related to mandatory video recording throughout the construction process.

▲ Large domestic construction companies already monitor their construction sites independently. Safety management costs are set by project owners. For small and medium-sized construction companies, research and development (R&D) is being planned to establish an integrated site safety management system. Approximately 28 billion KRW will be invested from 2024 to 2027.

- What is the expected scale of the Special Investigation Police?

▲ The scale and optimal operation will be decided through discussions with related agencies such as the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. For now, officials from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport headquarters, regional land management offices, and local governments will concurrently hold Special Investigation Police status. They will have all the powers that general police officers have, including summoning and requesting documents, questioning, searches and seizures, and warrant requests.

- How much time and cost are needed to popularize the tower crane operation recording devices?

▲ Currently, recording devices are mandatory even for freight vehicles. However, there are no regulations mandating the storage of those records and submission to supervisory agencies. Tower cranes are expensive equipment, so it is somewhat different, but it will not incur an extremely high cost.

- Have you considered incentives for those who comply with the system legally?

▲ The follow-up measures focus on increasing the detection rate of illegal activities and strengthening penalties to impose significant burdens when detected. Compliance with regulations is a natural responsibility, and providing incentives in such cases would require someone to bear the cost, so this is still under consideration.

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