To mark the New Year, mid-sized construction companies are holding group hikes and ceremonies praying for contracts and safety in quick succession. Although it is a long-standing tradition in the construction industry, it is effectively semi-mandatory on weekends, which are outside working hours, and the risk of safety accidents is not small, so calls for abolition are high, especially among younger employees.
According to the construction industry on the 14th, Shindonga Construction Co. held a ceremony praying for contracts on the 10th at the sunrise plaza on Achasan in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul. About 60 executives and employees, including President Kim Se-jun, attended the event. They prayed to achieve this year's target of 1 trillion won in contracts and to have zero accidents at sites. Well known for the dwellings brand "Familie," Shindonga Construction Co. ranks 58th in the Construction Capability Assessment and is a mid-sized builder; it filed for court receivership in January last year and closed its corporate rehabilitation proceedings early in October the same year.
Shindonga Construction Co. was not the only one that climbed Achasan that day. Dongmun Construction, ranked 61st and owner of the dwellings brand "The East," also held an event on Achasan and pledged to successfully carry out major projects planned for this year and to prevent safety accidents at all sites. About 70 executives and employees, including President Lee Sang-ju, attended the event. Attendees hiked together, had time for unity and communication, and shared New Year goals and action items, the company said.
WOOMI Construction Co., ranked 21st, also climbed the Cheonjedan altar on Mudeungsan in Gwangju the same day, where CEO Kim Young-gil and employees held a ceremony praying for contracts and reaffirmed their resolve to achieve New Year management goals. Daebo Construction and Daebo Industrial, construction affiliates of Daebo Group, likewise showed their determination for contract targets and zero accidents, with 40 people including CEOs Kim Sung-ho and Jang Sang-geun at the summit of Mani-san in Ganghwa. Daewon, known for the residential brand "Cantavil," climbed Cheonggyesan in Seoul on the 10th, and ChinHung International, a Hyosung affiliate, did so on the 11th to hold ceremonies praying for contracts and safety.
Ceremonies praying for contracts and safety are significant annual events, as they are meant to pray for what is most important to builders: winning contracts and safety. As recently as 10 years ago, most companies had company-wide participation, with hundreds of executives and employees gathering in front of headquarters, boarding tour buses, and heading up mountains in a line. They mainly visited Cheonggyesan and Mani-san, considered mountains with strong energy in the industry, as well as Achasan, which is easy to access.
The problem is that most group hikes and prayer ceremonies take place outside working hours. The 10th and 11th, when mid-sized builders went up mountains, were both weekends. On top of that, hiking in cold weather carries a not-insignificant risk of accidents. For this reason, most large construction companies have abolished company-level ceremonies praying for contracts and safety, and only some business divisions or individual sites hold them unofficially.
An employee from a construction company who attended a contract prayer ceremony said, "They call it voluntary participation, but it's hard to skip an event attended by the CEO and executives," adding, "I don't even expect holiday pay. I just hope I don't get hurt there or get dragged to a drinking session."