[Public Voices]The Construction Industry Moving Backward

There is a theory about safety accidents called Heinrich's Law. It is a statistical finding that if small accidents occur frequently, a major accident will eventually happen. The type of accident typical in developing countries, where a perfectly fine apartment collapses, occurred again this year following last year. There is no law preventing a horrific large-scale disaster like the Sampoong Department Store collapse about 30 years ago from happening again. More and more people are becoming anxious, wondering if the space we currently live in is truly safe. What on earth is happening at apartment construction sites in the Republic of Korea?

Last April, at an apartment site in Gimpo Geomdan commissioned by LH, a concrete floor collapsed. The cause was identified as missing rebar installation, and LH’s full inspection revealed 15 additional complexes with similar issues. The government diagnoses this as a pathological problem of a construction cartel linked to LH. This diagnosis is half right and half wrong.

There is a commonality between last year’s major disaster at the Gwangju Hakdong apartment site and this recent accident site. Both feature a flat slab structure without beams, and the concrete strength falls far short of the design standard strength. If there are problems with the floor slabs and columns supporting the building, a major disaster is only a matter of time. The government has belatedly announced plans to conduct a full inspection of flat slab structure apartment sites. That is at least some relief.

The construction industry is different from manufacturing. It is not an industry that produces products, but one that manages processes. In other words, the process (process) is more important than the product (product) as the outcome. At some point, apartments in Korea became products that construction companies must sell well at all costs. In other words, the apartment construction industry has transformed into a form where results are more important than processes.

As a result, technical skills that should manage the process have been neglected, and all efforts are focused on selling products with high pre-sale rates. Currently, at apartment sites, construction engineers reportedly do not need to look at blueprints until completion. The logic is that the process does not need to be examined because the site is optimized for producing results. Instead of ensuring that rebar placement is properly reflected in the design or that ready-mix concrete strength is properly realized, efforts to increase pre-sale rates and reduce costs have become more important.

Unlike wall-type or frame-type apartment structures, flat slab structures require especially careful management of rebar placement and ready-mix concrete strength. If engineers were unaware of this, they abandoned their duties; if they knew and neglected it, they committed a crime. Because cost reduction determines a site’s performance, excessive cost-cutting competition has escalated into a situation that forgets the construction industry’s fundamental duty to manage processes.

Of course, last year’s sharp rise in raw material prices caused shortages of rebar and ready-mix concrete, so construction sites likely faced severe cost pressures. Moreover, the structure of apartments is such that if the scheduled move-in date is not met, the construction company suffers huge losses, which can also be seen as a cause of such poor quality.

Whatever the reasons, the primary responsibility clearly lies with the construction companies. Nevertheless, apart from such accountability, it is time to examine the structural limitations of Korea’s construction industry. I would like to propose three major urgent issues to address in the construction industry.

First, the improvement of management systems for on-site labor personnel. Currently, no construction site can operate without relying on foreign labor. Most of these workers are unskilled, making communication difficult and technical skill accumulation challenging. It is urgent to have public discussions on the supply and demand of these overseas laborers and to establish fundamental industry-level countermeasures.

Second, measures to prevent the outflow of talented personnel. The construction industry is a national key industry. It is essential to nurture high-quality talent and provide appropriate treatment. The government’s technological investments focus heavily on advanced fields such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence. Who will be responsible for supplying and managing social infrastructure facilities such as super high-rise buildings, large tunnels, and bridges?

Third, improvement of apartment supervision or Construction Management (CM) systems. Currently, under the Housing Act and the Construction Technology Promotion Act, supervisors or construction managers are assigned the role of monitoring construction companies’ neglect of duties, but they are failing to fulfill their roles. It is urgent to revise the system so that it can operate effectively.

Korea’s construction industry is facing great challenges. Nothing can be gained by putting the safety and lives of the people at risk. It is time for everyone to pool wisdom to find the fundamental causes and propose solutions so that Korea’s construction industry, which is going backward, can be normalized as soon as possible.

Cha Heeseong, Professor, Department of Architecture, Ajou University