Construction Union: "'Rebar Omission and Poor Workmanship' Due to Illegal Subcontracting and Speed Race"

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions Construction Workers' Union (KCTU Construction Union) pointed out that poor construction, such as 'missing rebar' in apartments, is due to structural problems like illegal subcontracting and speed-driven construction.

On the morning of the 3rd at 11 a.m., the KCTU Construction Union held a press conference in front of the Seoul Seodaemun-gu Police Agency, stating, "The construction capital blinded by profit and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), which turns a blind eye to illegal activities, are responsible," and claimed, "Poor construction is caused by illegal subcontracting and reckless speed-driven construction."

Members of the National Construction Workers' Union held a press conference on the morning of the 3rd in front of the Seoul Seodaemun-gu Police Agency, urging the punishment of those responsible for the poor construction of apartments commissioned by Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH).
[Image source=Yonhap News]

On that day, the Construction Union emphasized, "The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced in its internal audit results that most of the LH collapse issues were due to design errors and poor design, which is an admission of fault by LH, the client and the authority responsible for site management and supervision," adding, "Checking whether the rebar is properly installed during pouring is the most important and basic role of the contractor and the supervisor."

They continued, "People from LH and MOLIT parachute into design and supervision companies," and added, "Those who take on supervisory roles lobby for LH and large construction companies, so can the supervisory companies that lobbied properly perform supervision on site?"

Furthermore, the Construction Union pointed out, "The Construction Technology Promotion Act imposes an obligation on clients, including private ones, to calculate appropriate construction periods and to reflect the 52-hour workweek and climate conditions according to related guidelines," and criticized, "Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), the largest public client, ignored these laws and regulations and allowed speed-driven construction."

Ham Kyung-sik, Director of the Labor Safety Research Institute, also said, "Setting an absolute construction period to shorten the construction time and reduce site maintenance costs is the profit structure of construction companies," and warned, "If fundamental issues such as the lowest bid system, illegal subcontracting, and absolute construction periods stemming from this structure are not addressed, the current illegal practices will continue to be repeated."

The Construction Union proposed measures such as appropriate construction cost and period design by clients, and institutionalizing a construction worker grading system to foster skilled workers.

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