The Korea Authority of Land & Infrastructure Safety (KALIS) will conduct on-site inspections and safety consulting this year for about 22,000 small construction sites with construction costs of 5 billion won or less. With fatal accidents at construction sites concentrated at smaller sites where safety management systems are relatively weak, the plan is to cut accidents through unannounced inspections and tailored technical guidance.
Park Chang-geun, head of the Korea Authority of Land & Infrastructure Safety (KALIS), said at a Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport press briefing with reporters held in Eojin-dong, Sejong, on the 23rd, "We will carry out on-site inspection and consulting projects for about 22,000 small construction sites with construction costs of 5 billion won or less this year."
Park said, "More than 40% of all fatal accidents occur at sites costing 5 billion won or less," and explained, "Of the 150,000 to 160,000 civil engineering sites nationwide, nearly 90% are 5 billion won or less, making them difficult to manage."
The Korea Authority of Land & Infrastructure Safety (KALIS) will introduce a "safety patrol" system to strengthen management of small construction sites. Among sites registered in the Construction Industry Knowledge Information System (KISCON), 15,000 sites costing 5 billion won or less that include high-risk processes will be prioritized. The safety patrols will operate by visiting sites without prior notice to check safety management conditions and provide technical guidance and tailored training.
Park said, "When we go to the field, some projects have already finished or have not yet started, so we visit some small sites after prior confirmation," adding, "We will identify risk factors on site and present improvement measures, but if improvement is deemed difficult, we plan to notify local governments or project owners."
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Construction Work Safety Management Information System (CSI), the number of fatalities at construction sites was 199 last year. As of the end of June last year, it was 99, and so far this year it stands at 50. Park said, "This year, fatal accidents are down about 50% from the same period last year."
The Korea Authority of Land & Infrastructure Safety (KALIS) will also strengthen the safety management system for demolition work on aging infrastructure in the wake of the recent Seosomun overpass accident. Park said, "The Seosomun overpass accident was a tragic disaster that occurred during the process of dismantling a facility," adding, "We will work with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to swiftly put institutional safety measures in place related to the dismantling of aging infrastructure."
Underground safety management will also be strengthened. To improve the reliability of underground safety assessments at the design stage, the Korea Authority of Land & Infrastructure Safety (KALIS) will fully revise standard manuals focusing on three key elements: groundwater, cutoff methods, and ground stability. At the construction stage, the current document-centered underground safety investigation method will be changed to an on-site checklist approach, and at the maintenance stage, equipment for cavity detection and professional personnel will be expanded.
Park said, "We secured a budget of 6.5 billion won this year to purchase ground penetrating radar (GPR) equipment," adding, "Once the equipment is introduced, we will have a total of 30 units." Park added, "We will also push to apply AI to bridge and dam inspections using drones and to underground safety so the same workforce can conduct more precise diagnostics at more sites."