Hannam 3 District Construction Company Bidding 'Illegal Competition' Completely Blocked

Hanam 3 District Redevelopment Association Bid Guidelines Changed
Special Provided Items Removed, Innovation Design Prohibited Added
Seoul City Strengthens On-site Reporting Center Operation for Proactive Response

[Asia Economy Reporter Onyu Lim] Illegal competition will be blocked during the re-bidding process for the construction company of 'Hannam 3 District.' The union minimized the possibility of controversy by deleting items such as 'specification of items provided to union members' from the bidding guidelines for selecting the construction company, and Seoul City will eradicate violations through preventive measures such as a 'field reporting center' instead of a reactive approach.

According to the re-bidding guidelines for selecting the construction company of Hannam 3 District on the 17th, some provisions such as bidding participation regulations and bidding proposal preparation standards were deleted, changed, or added compared to the initial bidding last year. Specifically, the content of 'specifying special items provided to union members' was removed from the bidding proposal preparation standards.

Quotation

(Previous) 'Additional relocation expenses (minimum relocation expense limit specified), alternative design, interest-free loan limits, and special items provided to union members are specified. However, only within the scope that does not violate Article 29, Paragraph 2 of the Maintenance Project Contract Work Handling Standards.
(Changed) Includes additional relocation expenses and alternative design details according to Article 30 of the Maintenance Project Contract Work Handling Standards.'

The guideline also includes the content that 'innovative design is not allowed.' It specifies that 'only one alternative design proposal is allowed, and innovative proposals are not permitted.' Additionally, among the application documents for bidding participation, the 'free provision plan' was changed to 'additional provision plan related to construction.'

The Hannam 3 District redevelopment union changed the bidding guidelines for selecting the construction company to induce fair competition among construction companies. A union official mentioned at a previous on-site briefing, "Since this is a re-bid, we revised some parts of the bidding guidelines considering the points pointed out by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Seoul City." Since illegal competition controversies among GS Construction, Hyundai Construction, and Daelim Industrial last year caused the bidding to be suspended once, fair competition is required for the redevelopment project to gain momentum. Previously, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Seoul City reported the illegal acts of the three companies to the prosecution, and after the prosecution decided not to indict, the union prepared for the re-bidding of the construction company after various twists and turns.

Not only the union but also Seoul City took special management measures for fair competition. Seoul City decided to operate a field reporting center in Hannam 3 District jointly with Yongsan District Office. In response to strong criticism of reactive measures such as prosecution referrals, they decided to preemptively block overheating of the bidding war. The field reporting center will operate until the selection of the constructor is completed on April 26. Operating hours are two hours a day (2 PM to 4 PM). Outside these hours, reports can be made to the Yongsan District Office.

An official from the maintenance industry said, "Since GS Construction, one of the construction company candidates, also announced a clean bidding policy, excessive competition compared to the first bidding last year is unlikely to occur," and added, "We hope that more emphasis will be placed on competition through project proposals." Previously, GS Construction decided not to conduct individual promotional activities targeting union members ahead of the bidding for the construction company selection of Hannam 3 District. This decision came amid a recent investigation by the prosecution after allegations surfaced that an outsourced promotional company employee (OS agent) provided cash and entertainment to some union members during the initial bidding process in November last year.