Special Inspection of 12 Apartment Sites Nationwide
Detection of Unperformed Quality Tests and Construction Defects
[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Jiwon] The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 29th that a total of 32 violations were detected during a special inspection conducted at the end of last year to prevent defective apartment construction.
The Ministry formed a joint special inspection team with related agencies such as the Administrative City Construction Agency and conducted a special inspection from November to December last year targeting 12 apartment construction sites where about 50% of the work had been completed.
As a result of the inspection, a total of 32 violations were detected in the Seoul metropolitan area (3 cases), Gangwon region (2 cases), Chungcheong region (3 cases), Jeolla region (2 cases), and Gyeongsang region (2 cases).
The main violations included inadequate installation of side cushioning materials at the lower part of interior walls to prevent floor impact noise transmission, failure to conduct quality tests, and failure to account for quality management costs.
The Ministry plans to impose penalty points and fines according to the level of violations and take administrative measures such as on-site corrections.
Penalty points totaling 11 will be imposed on contractors and supervisors for violations such as failure to conduct material quality tests including concrete compressive strength, insufficient thickness of floor impact noise insulation structures, and partial failure to conduct regular safety inspections.
Additionally, two project owners who did not include quality management and safety management costs in the construction amount will be fined according to the Construction Technology Promotion Act.
For a total of 26 minor construction defects, such as inadequate slab upper surface treatment, on-site corrective construction will be ordered.
Penalty points and fines will be preliminarily notified through the Ministry’s regional land management offices by the end of this month, followed by a 30-day period for objections and review by the penalty points review committee before final confirmation.
Lee Yuri, Director of the Housing Construction Supply Division at the Ministry, stated, "This year as well, we will conduct special inspections on apartment construction sites to prevent defective construction and strive to supply high-quality multi-family housing to residents by preemptively blocking defect occurrences."
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