Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Cracks Down on Illegal Subcontracting... 179 Sites Caught

During a 100-day crackdown on illegal subcontracting conducted since last May, 179 construction sites were caught.

Won Hee-ryong, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, is announcing the results of a focused crackdown on illegal subcontracting and measures to eradicate it at the briefing room of the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 20th. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

On the 20th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced the results of the intensive crackdown on illegal subcontracting carried out over 100 days from last May to August 30.

As a result of investigating 508 sites where the proportion of wages paid directly by construction companies to workers was significantly low, illegal subcontracting was detected at 179 sites, accounting for 35.2% of the total.

333 cases of illegal subcontracting were uncovered at 249 construction companies, with unqualified illegal subcontracting accounting for the largest number at 221 cases.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport stated that it will analyze the illegal subcontracting cases detected in this crackdown and prepare eradication measures.

First, it announced plans to impose management obligations so that the costs exceed the expected profits from illegal subcontracting and to strengthen the level of punishment.

To this end, the ministry plans to strengthen regulations on deregistration and fines for construction companies that engage in illegal subcontracting and introduce criminal penalties for clients and primary contractors.

When illegal subcontracting is confirmed, clients will be allowed to terminate contracts, and a punitive damages system will also be introduced.

For the types and categories frequently detected in this crackdown, a system will be established to enable early detection, thereby building a continuous monitoring system.

The Ministry will conduct a full inspection of publicly ordered construction projects and manage whether the competent authorities properly take disciplinary actions against the companies caught in the crackdown.

The government will announce reform measures in October based on discussions from the Construction Industry Normalization TF and the results of the intensive crackdown, targeting the construction industry cartel, which has been cited as a cause of illegal subcontracting.

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