The construction industry argues that overlapping regulations and excessive regulations from various ministries are cumulatively undermining the industry's vitality in the long term and that regulatory rationalization is necessary for the industry's resurgence.
The Korea Institute of Construction Technology (KICT) held a seminar titled, 'New Government Construction Industry Vitalization Driver: Regulatory Reform Major Shift' on the 20th at the Construction Hall in Gangnam, Seoul.
Lee Chung-jae, the head of KICT, stated in his opening speech, 'As a result of estimating the regulatory costs for the construction industry over the past 10 years, it has increased from 7.9 trillion won in 2013 to 11.4 trillion won in 2023, an increase of about 44%. We believe that the social and economic losses due to tightened regulations have reached a critical point in correlation with the slump in the construction market.'
He emphasized that 'the regulatory rationalization of the construction industry should focus on establishing a sustainable innovation structure in the medium to long term rather than being a short-term response' and 'the government should be wary of the temptation to easily strengthen regulations and should establish a consistent implementation system aligned with rational regulatory direction through voluntary cooperation governance with the private sector.'
Regulations surrounding the construction industry have developed a multi-layered and overlapping structure centered on the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. According to KICT, other ministries such as the Ministry of Interior and Safety, the Ministry of Environment, and the Ministry of Employment and Labor also regulate the construction industry through legislation, excluding the Ministry of Land and Transport. Outside of the Ministry of Land, the number of construction-related regulatory laws from other ministries stands at 47, with 4,656 clauses counted.
KICT proposed core improvement tasks including ▲reorganization of sporadic regulations ▲the establishment of a communication channel for the regulated ▲enhancement of the regulatory management system in the Ministry of Land ▲and the introduction of a regulatory quantity management system. Although issues of illegal subcontracting have gained attention due to recent accidents at construction sites, it has been pointed out that, under the banner of 'transaction fairness in subcontracting,' a significant number of regulations are focused solely on primary subcontracting, leading to greater problems in blind spots. This is due to inadequate protective policies for illegal activities occurring in secondary cooperative relationships (between primary subcontractors and re-subcontractors, equipment suppliers, and construction workers) outside of primary subcontracting.
Kim Min-ju, a senior research fellow at KICT, noted, 'We must enhance the effectiveness of construction subcontracting regulations by eradicating multi-tiered subcontracting through the management of construction personnel within the regulatory framework.'