The government decided to expand the "national certification supervision system," which directly verifies skilled veteran supervisors to improve safety and quality at construction sites, to include roads and transportation.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said on the 11th that it has newly prepared the "2026 outstanding construction technologists selection plan" to identify and foster experts with strong on-site management capabilities and will accept applications starting July 20.
The national certification supervision system departs from the past practice of looking only at paper credentials such as education, career, and licenses, and is a system in which the state certifies excellent talent by comprehensively assessing the ability to control actual sites, professional knowledge, and ethics.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) has improved the system to enhance supervisors' professionalism and sense of responsibility after the 2023 collapse of an apartment parking structure in Geomdan, Incheon, and last year for the first time selected 75 outstanding technologists in the architecture field.
Starting this year, the selection scope will be expanded beyond the existing architecture area to include roads and transportation facilities closely tied to people's daily lives. Because road and transport networks are core infrastructure directly connected to the public's everyday routines, the government judged that even more meticulous safety management and quality maintenance are needed.
Accordingly, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) will select around 200 outstanding construction technologists across the combined architecture and road/transport areas and have them closely supervise major public works sites. Going forward, the government plans to gradually expand the certification scope to various fields such as water resources and complex development in line with the construction engineering classification system.
Those selected this time as outstanding construction technologists will receive a certificate issued by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister, valid for three years. Practical benefits will follow as well. The outstanding technologists chosen in the architecture field last year are expected to receive extra points when participating this year in construction management services for public housing by Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH). Those selected this year are also expected to receive bonus points in next year's project capability evaluations for publicly procured service contracts.
To apply for national certification supervision this year, applicants must have scored at least 90 points in the comprehensive evaluation for participating in construction management services in architecture or road/transport over the past three years (2024–2026). Eligibility can be checked directly on the Korea Authority of Land & Infrastructure Safety (KALIS) website. Documents will be accepted online for one month from July 20 to Aug. 14, with those who pass document screening undergoing in-depth interviews in October and final successful candidates announced in November.
In addition, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will hold an information session at 2 p.m. on July 8 in the grand conference room at the HIT building on Hanyang University's Seoul campus in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, to explain the program in detail. The session will provide an in-depth introduction to the background for adopting the system, specific selection procedures, and extra-point benefits.
Kim Myeong-jun, director-general for technology and safety policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), said, "The national certification supervision system is designed to create an environment where outstanding technologists with on-site experience and expertise are fairly evaluated and favored," adding, "We will continue to develop the system so that verified construction project management technologists can be assigned to major construction sites."