"By making full use of the advantage of being able to shorten the construction period, we can quickly achieve housing stability for the public. I expect the modular construction industry will help protect construction workers' safety by drastically reducing various accidents that occur at construction sites."
Han Jun-ho of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the Land Infrastructure and Transport Committee of the National Assembly, stated accordingly at the "public hearing on special legislation to support the revitalization of modular construction" held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building on the 18th.
The modular construction method is a new construction technology in which the main structural components of a building are manufactured in advance off-site, such as at a factory, and the building is completed on-site by assembly alone. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport held this public hearing to gather opinions from various sectors on the draft special act to support the revitalization of modular construction.
Han said, "Modular dwellings are an industry area that is just starting to stretch in Korea, but they are already popularized globally," emphasizing, "In the United Kingdom, modular construction is used to address housing shortages and environmental issues, and in Singapore, modular construction is encouraged as a way to solve problems such as high population density."
Han continued, "To ensure that the modular construction industry can take firm root in our economy and industrial ecosystem going forward, we need to overcome the limitations posed by shortcomings in laws and systems, and fortunately the government has taken the lead in pushing to prepare this special bill," adding, "We will do our best to ensure that the legislative process proceeds smoothly from the bill's introduction to passage at the plenary session."
At the session, Baek Jeong-hun, a Commissioner at the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT), presented the legislative intent and key elements of the special act to revitalize modular construction. Regarding the background for promoting the special act, Baek said, "Despite support such as public procurement and research and development (R&D), activation of the modular market has been sluggish due to high costs and institutional constraints," explaining, "Because the system for overall management of modular construction is inadequate, a separate legal framework is needed to provide integrated and systematic support."
Compared with existing construction methods, modular construction can shorten the construction period by about 20% to 30%, and it involves fewer high-altitude tasks, making it advantageous for preventing safety accidents. However, activation has been sluggish because various construction standards and regulations centered on on-site work that do not fit the characteristics of modular construction still apply as is. In addition, due to insufficient standardization across design, manufacturing, and construction processes, construction costs are rising, cost estimation is difficult, and certification and management systems are also inadequate.
The main elements of the modular special bill begin by defining the terminology applicable to modular construction. It "pre-manufactures all or a substantial portion of a building at an off-site location such as a factory, and assembles and installs it at the construction site to improve the construction efficiency and quality of buildings," thereby reestablishing the terminology with an emphasis on the essence of the production method. It also provides the basis for establishing and operating a "modular construction deliberation committee" to adopt a basic plan (five years) and an implementation plan (one year) for modular construction revitalization and to vote on important matters.
Next, to build the foundation for revitalizing modular construction, customized standard criteria distinct from on-site work will be established across the entire process of construction projects—design, construction, supervision, and cost standards—and their preferential application in the public sector will be encouraged. In addition, to expand the distribution of modular buildings and demonstrate new technologies, the Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport may designate "modular construction promotion zones," and support may be provided for infrastructure development and demonstration projects in those zones.
Finally, the bill specifies the establishment of a certification system to ensure the quality of modular buildings. By introducing a "modular production certification system" that evaluates the manufacturing systems and quality management capabilities of factories that produce building modules, the plan is to mandate the use of certified modules only for public building projects above a certain size going forward. A "modular construction certification system" will also be operated for buildings that use production-certified modules. Through construction certification, the level of modular technology applied to a given building will be evaluated and graded, and various incentives and regulatory exceptions will be applied to modular buildings that achieve a certain grade or higher.
A panel discussion followed, chaired by Ajou University Professor Jo Bong-ho. Participants included Baek, Director Kim Young-a, head of the dwellings construction supply division at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, No Tae-geuk, Head of Team at Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH), Kang Chang-hee, executive director at HanmiGlobal, and Seo Dong-gu, principal researcher at the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT). They proposed various improvement measures, such as establishing detailed classification systems to reflect the bill's intent.
Professor Jo said, "Just as the United Kingdom established standards commonly used by the construction industry as well as the finance, insurance, and technology sectors through the MMC (Modern Methods of Construction) definition framework, the special act should go beyond merely defining methods and present clear criteria that the entire industrial ecosystem can use—from construction procurement to factory operations and financial support." Jo then proposed a concrete technical classification system by factory production rate (PMV) and type, mandatory capability verification by category, and the introduction of a three-stage quality certification system to prevent a proliferation of substandard firms.
Director Kim also said, "We are working to supply good-quality dwellings in a timely manner, including through the Sept. 7 housing supply measures, but the construction industry faces multiple challenges such as an aging workforce at sites and a trend of increasing foreign labor," emphasizing, "The modular method is a practical alternative that can be applied to construction sites experiencing labor shortages while improving both the speed and quality of supply for dwellings and other buildings."
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to comprehensively review the opinions raised at the public hearing and ensure that the legislative discussion process proceeds quickly.