‘Seoul-style Construction Innovation’ Unveiled... Creating ‘Zero Defective Construction Seoul’

The Seoul Metropolitan Government is implementing innovative measures to achieve a "Zero Defective Construction Seoul." For public construction projects, construction work directly related to building quality and safety will be 100% carried out by the primary contractor, not subcontracted. In the private sector, all stages of construction will be closely managed and supported, from cracking down on illegal subcontracting to ensuring the independence of supervision.

Furthermore, since transparent and safe construction culture and self-purification efforts to prevent defective construction start with the awareness of the "client," a "(tentative name) Seoul Construction Industry Client Association" will be established to transform the construction industry culture.

Seoul-type Construction Innovation 8 Core Tasks. [Image provided by Seoul City]

On the 7th, Seoul announced the "Seoul-type Construction Innovation Measures" based on these points and pledged to create a "Safe Seoul without Defective Construction." The core is to move away from fragmented measures taken each time defective construction occurs, to change the industry's structure, and to break the chain of defects ingrained as a custom.

Before establishing the measures, the city focused on examining the entire construction industry and identifying causes of defects in each case across "design-construction-supervision-client." Especially compared to public projects, private construction will undergo not only institutional reforms but also structural improvements to establish a sound client culture across all fields from design to client.

The plan includes measures to expel construction companies that shift responsibility to subcontractors or engage in defective construction through excessive subcontracting, and to secure actual on-site supervision time for supervisors. It also includes content to improve construction safety and quality, such as training skilled workers and enhancing the capabilities of foreign workers.

Based on various defective construction issues that have occurred so far, the city selected and will promote eight core tasks in three sectors. Major improvements will be prepared separately for public and private sectors, with measures that can be implemented independently first, and items requiring legal amendments will be proposed and negotiated with the government.

Ban on Subcontracting for Major Public Construction Works... Expansion of ‘Video Recording’ to All Public Construction Sites

First, in the public construction sector, to impose the obligation of "responsible construction" on the primary contractor, immediate reconstruction will be mandatory in case of accidents caused by defects. In this regard, the city will add provisions related to "mandatory reconstruction" to the "Special Conditions for Construction Contracts of Seoul Metropolitan Government," complete the revision by the first half of next year, and implement it.

Companies responsible for defective construction will be restricted from participating in large turnkey projects and technical bids ordered by Seoul for two years. Furthermore, depending on the nature of the defect, if designated as a dishonest contractor, they will be banned from bidding on public construction projects for up to two years, and their names will be disclosed.

To eradicate the widespread problem of low-price illegal subcontracting at construction sites, the city mandates 100% direct construction for major trades in projects it orders. From now on, major trades and subcontracting prohibition conditions that must be directly constructed will be specified in the bidding announcements for projects ordered by Seoul and its affiliated investment and foundation institutions. Major trades refer to core trades that significantly affect structural safety of facilities and account for a large portion of construction costs, such as rebar, concrete, and bridge works.

The city is also negotiating with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to add "direct construction ratio" as an evaluation item in the "criteria for selecting successful bidders in local government bids" (hereinafter referred to as local contract regulations) so that direct construction status can have a real impact on winning bids. In cases where subcontracting is unavoidable due to technical supplementation, the threshold for "subcontract contract appropriateness review" will be strengthened from less than 82% of the primary contract amount to less than 90%, strictly verifying subcontract contracts that leave more than 10% commission.

To secure actual on-site supervision time for supervisors who must comprehensively manage and oversee construction under the responsible supervision system, excessive paperwork will be eliminated. Additionally, video recording management of construction sites, which can compensate for supervision gaps, will be expanded to all public facility construction sites, and filming equipment for construction records will be lent to small-scale construction sites.

Among about 70 types of supervision documents, unnecessary tasks will be boldly abolished, and the proportion of resident supervisors in city-ordered projects will be maximized to strengthen inspections for trades requiring many personnel, such as rebar placement and concrete pouring.

Support for ‘Subcontract Contract Appropriateness Review’ in Private Construction... Securing Independence of Supervision

In the private construction sector, which accounts for more than 70% of domestic construction orders, subcontract management and supervision will be significantly strengthened, and the independence of supervision will be guaranteed.

Illegal subcontracting crackdowns, previously only implemented in the public sector, will be expanded to private projects. Upon request from associations or building owners, the Regional Construction Safety Center (city/district) will support "subcontract contract appropriateness reviews." To manage construction quality, concrete pouring during rainfall will be prohibited in principle, and if unavoidable, mandatory strength inspections will be conducted. Following the "Measures to Eradicate Illegal Subcontracting" announced by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in September this year, if local governments are granted enforcement authority, the city plans to conduct thorough crackdowns centered on the Regional Construction Safety Center.

To enable supervision of housing construction projects to operate independently from clients, the city will directly manage "supervision contract appropriateness," and plans to request the government to revise related regulations to introduce the "public deposit and payment system for supervision fees," previously applied only to housing construction, to general building projects. Furthermore, construction supervision will be jointly conducted not only by architects but also by structural engineers or construction engineers with expertise in structure and safety. The city will propose the introduction of a "supervision qualification exam" for construction, structure, and safety quality to secure supervision specialized in safety.

Enhancement of On-site Workers’ Skills and Strengthened Management... Establishment of Client Association

The city will also change the chronic customs and structure rooted in the construction industry for decades, such as poor construction skills and dumping bids (low-price winning bids).

To train skilled workers, Seoul will support "skill grade promotion education" and propose to the government the introduction of a "differential wage system" where higher grades receive higher pay. Before deploying foreign workers, functional tests such as understanding design drawings and rebar assembly, as well as quality and safety education through professional interpreters, will be conducted. In the future, "mid-level" workers will be assigned to trades related to structural safety such as concrete and rebar in Seoul-ordered projects, and detailed placement standards by trade will be specified in individual bidding announcements.

Improvements to the bidding system, where the winning bidder is determined by bid price, will also be pursued. The city will propose to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to raise the "full score standard for technical performance evaluation" in the Comprehensive Evaluation Bidding System (hereinafter referred to as CEBS) to secure technical differentiation and to expand CEBS, currently applied only to projects over 30 billion KRW, to projects over 10 billion KRW. The "qualification review," applied to projects under 30 billion KRW, has led to side effects such as inducing low-price bids and the proliferation of paper companies because the lowest bidder is selected if a certain score is exceeded. Therefore, the city aims to expand CEBS, which awards the highest total score bidder. Additionally, the qualification review winning rate, currently about 86%, will be raised to over 90%, and the standard market price used to calculate the estimated construction cost (currently about 86% of the standard unit price) will also be requested to be updated.

Since the awareness of clients who prioritize construction quality is more important than any regulation or system to prevent defective construction, a "(tentative name) Seoul Construction Industry Client Association" will be formed. Public institutions, private redevelopment associations (implementing agencies), and experts will work together to change the construction industry culture and enhance expertise. The association will also perform construction industry support functions such as education for clients, consulting for private redevelopment associations, subcontract and supervision contract appropriateness reviews, specialized skill training for on-site workers, and briefings on new project orders.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said, "We have prepared comprehensive improvement measures to break the chain of defective construction that recently caused great anxiety to citizens, such as the collapse of an underground parking lot, and to help the construction industry take off again. We will lead fundamental changes in our construction technology and industry, recognized worldwide, and create a safe and attractive 'Global Safety City.'"

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