Sunyoung General Construction had the most defect rulings over the past six months.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 29th released the number of defect cases and handling status for apartment housing filed with the Defect Review and Dispute Mediation Committee (Hasimwi), as well as the list of top builders by defect rulings for the first half of 2026 (6th round).
According to the data released this time, Hasimwi handled an annual average of about 4,600 defect-related disputes (including defect reviews, dispute mediation, and adjudication) over the past five years (2021–2025), and handled a total of 4,761 cases last year.
For defect reviews that determine whether an apartment housing unit has a defect, a total of 10,911 applications were filed from 2021 through February. The rate of cases actually ruled as defects by Hasimwi (defect ruling rate) was 68.3% (7,448 cases).
Looking at the main types of ruled defects, they were, in order, functional failure (18%), lifting and detachment (15.1%), cracking (11.1%), condensation (9.9%), leakage (7.6%), and contamination and discoloration (6.8%).
Based on the most recent six months from September last year through February, the top builders by number of defect rulings were Sunyoung General Construction (249 cases, based on detailed defect counts), Shindonga Construction Co. (120), Biltech General Construction (66), Line (56), and SG Construction (55).
On a cumulative basis for the past five years from March 2021 through February, Sunyoung General Construction (383 cases, based on detailed defect counts) also had the most. It was followed by Daemyung General Construction (318), SM Line (311), JEIL Construction Co. (299), and Daewoo Engineering & Construction (293). With the decline in detailed defect counts among large builders, the ranking of top builders—which had been similar since the first release on Sept. 1, 2023—changed significantly in this announcement.
When based on the defect ruling rate, the top builders over the most recent six months were Biltech General Construction (244.4%), Jeongwoo General Construction (166.7%), Sunyoung General Construction (149.1%), Jeongmun Construction (100.0%), and Eloi General Construction (40.4%).
On a cumulative basis for the past five years, they were Jiwoo General Construction (2,660.0%), Samdo General Construction (1,687.5%), Jihyang General Construction (1,681.3%), Hyesung General Construction (1,300.0%), and Baegun General Construction (741.7%). This is similar to the builder rankings in the 5th release on Oct. 2025.
Currently, when Hasimwi finally rules a case as a defect, the project owner is required under the Apartment Housing Management Act and related regulations to repair the defect within 60 days and register the results in the defect management information system.
Hasimwi is improving the system for confirming defect repair results so that residents can more easily check a project owner's repair results, by notifying the applicant via text message (SMS) when the project owner registers repair implementation results, and by allowing the applicant to view related materials through the website and mobile.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport expects that this measure will enhance the right to know of residents who applied for defect reviews and induce responsible defect repairs by project owners.
In addition, to make it easier for residents to access information on apartment housing defects, starting in the second half of 2026 (7th release), the disclosure of the list of top builders by defect rulings will be changed to posting on the Defect Review and Dispute Mediation Committee website.
Jang U-cheol, housing policy director at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "The gradual decrease in the number of defect rulings centered on large builders is the practical effect of continued list disclosures," and added, "We will continue to induce quality improvements by builders through list disclosures and keep improving defect-related systems to protect the rights and interests of residents related to apartment housing defects that are closely tied to people's daily lives."