The Fair Trade Commission has identified and sanctioned nine construction disaster prevention professional guidance agencies in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions for engaging in collusion regarding commission fees.
On the 3rd, the Fair Trade Commission announced that it imposed correction orders and a total penalty surcharge of 395 million won on nine organizations, including Seosang Construction Safety, Korea Safety Consulting, Samjin Structural Safety Technology Institute, Shinhan Construction Safety, Comprehensive Safety Technology Institute, Korea Industrial Safety Association, and Shinyoung C&S.
Construction disaster prevention technology guidance is a system designed to prevent safety risks at small to medium-sized construction sites lacking specialized safety personnel. Under the Industrial Safety and Health Act, project contractors are required to receive regular disaster prevention guidance from disaster prevention guidance agencies designated by the Minister of Employment and Labor.
According to the Fair Trade Commission's investigation, these nine companies devised the problematic methods as competition intensified among related agencies in the second half of 2014, leading to a decrease in the unit price of technology guidance fees and worsening profit margins. They set a 'minimum estimate amount' for the technology guidance fees and agreed on a 'transaction partner assignment method,' implementing this from February 2015.
In addition, in 2019, as many disaster prevention guidance agencies were newly established in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions, they also reorganized the agreement. By the end of 2020, they reaffirmed the original agreement and changed the method for imposing penalties in case of non-compliance.
This constitutes an unfair joint action prohibited under the Fair Trade Act. The Fair Trade Commission noted, 'We penalized collusion in the construction disaster prevention technology guidance area, where safety is prioritized,' adding that it would contribute to improving the quality of technology guidance through fair competition to prevent disasters at construction sites.