Government Conducts Joint Inspection on 'Illegal Activities at Construction Sites,' Resulting in 4 Fines and 1 Arrest

The government, through a joint inspection and supervision by related ministries, found that four fines were imposed and one person was arrested for illegal activities at construction sites.

On the 19th, the Office for Government Policy Coordination announced that it held a joint meeting of the "Task Force to Eradicate Illegal Activities at Construction Sites" with related ministries to discuss the inspection results so far and future plans.

The government formed a TF including the Office for Government Policy Coordination, Ministry of Employment and Labor, National Police Agency, Fair Trade Commission, and Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and has been intensively cracking down on illegal activities at construction sites from October last year until the 12th of this month. Targets included some labor unions' coercion of hiring union members and illegal occupation.

For example, when members of Union B were hired at a site where members of Union A were working, Union A members refused to work, held rallies, and occupied the site to block the hiring, thus coercing hiring. The Ministry of Employment and Labor imposed four fines totaling 60 million KRW on two such sites, and procedures are underway, with six additional workplaces under investigation.

The National Police Agency reported that since the TF was formed, a total of 103 people were referred to the prosecution, with one person arrested. They explained that incidents occurred where groups crossed roads together and scattered coins on the ground to pick them up, obstructing vehicle traffic.

The Fair Trade Commission is investigating about 20 cases, including hiring coercion, for violations of the prohibition of business association unfair practices under the Fair Trade Act, with plans to handle them within the first half of this year.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport unified the reporting centers that were under the Construction Association and the Specialized Construction Association into the Ministry’s "Construction Site Hiring Order Reporting Center" in November last year. Since then, about three reports or inquiries have been received daily on average, and 33 cases among those received were requested to be handled by each ministry.

Yoon Chang-ryeol, First Deputy Director of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, emphasized, "Until now, each ministry responded individually to illegal activities at construction sites, making it difficult to fundamentally improve the sites. We will eliminate barriers between ministries through continuous inter-ministerial working-level meetings and establish a system that can respond quickly and strictly to illegal activities."