A plan is being pushed to give demerit points for shoddy electrical work ordered by the public sector and block companies from bidding.
According to the government on the 2nd, the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment will launch research this year to introduce a demerit point system for shoddy electrical work as a power industry policy task. The idea is to give demerit points for poor construction and, depending on the accumulation, restrict bidding or deduct points in construction capability evaluations. The ministry is also reviewing a measure to impose business suspensions if the demerit points exceed a certain level.
Earlier, the ministry identified proxy bidding and illegal subcontracting practices as one of the tasks under the "national normalization project." The view is that many electrical contractors are small, have failed to establish proper safety management systems, and, as a result, quality control is weak and accidents are repeated.
In fact, 19,037 electrical contractors posted construction performance in 2024, with average performance per company at only 2.063 billion won. Small-scale projects under 10 million won accounted for 77.5% of all construction. In the same year, of 128 electrical technicians who were electrocuted or otherwise injured, 104, or 81%, were involved in accidents during construction or maintenance work.
In the construction sector, a demerit point system for shoddy work has been in place since 1995, prompted by major disasters such as the 1994 Seongsu Bridge collapse. The intent is to hold parties accountable even for minor shoddy construction.