The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said on the 31st it will take reports of difficulties faced by the construction industry—stemming from a sharp rise in international oil prices due to recent instability in the Middle East and uncertainty in construction material supply—through a public-private "Middle East war corporate difficulties support center."
The support center is set up within sector-specific associations in construction, including the Construction Association of Korea, the Korea Specialty contractors association, the Korea Housing Association, the Korea Housing Builders Association, and the Korea Institute of Registered Architects, to receive and support issues such as material supply difficulties, on-site construction difficulties, and urgent requests experienced by each association's member companies.
The support center will operate around the clock until the Middle East situation stabilizes and, based on the received difficulties, will support stabilization of construction material supplies at construction sites through consultations with relevant ministries.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) plans to take stern action with relevant ministries if unfair market practices—such as profiteering through collusion and hoarding in the distribution process of construction materials, focusing on items with high risk due to the Middle East war—occur.
Minister Kim Yun-duk of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said, "We will do our utmost at the government level to ensure that our construction corporations do not suffer unfair damage due to the external variable of the Middle East war," adding, "Through the Middle East war corporate difficulties support center, we will listen to voices from construction sites and make every effort to minimize the ripple effects on industry and the economy."
The central headquarters of the Korea Specialty contractors association said that on the day it would operate the center to promptly receive on-site difficulties and, through consultations with relevant ministries, prepare effective institutional improvements and support measures.
The center will perform roles such as ▲ receiving material supply difficulties ▲ identifying urgent requests ▲ serving as a government consultation channel, and it plans to swiftly deliver on-site opinions received to relevant agencies, including the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and support their reflection in policy.
An association official said, "Amid a rapidly changing external environment, we plan to respond proactively to promote management stability in the specialty construction industry and minimize on-site damage caused by disruptions in material supply."