[Chatham House Discussion] "Ineffective Manuals, Staff Shortages, and Lack of Ethics Lead to Repeated Poor Construction"

Technical construction skills are world-class... Ignoring manuals to meet project timelines
Construction costs similar to 20 years ago... Low wages causing manpower shortages in supervision
Need implementation capacity over overlapping regulations... Mandatory ethics education in architecture required

Editor's NoteAs apartment parking lot collapses, missing rebar, and other construction accidents that are hard to comprehend continue to occur, 'safety' has emerged as the top issue. Various structural problems such as design, construction, supervision, and vested interest cartels have been pointed out as causes of the accidents. Rebar was missing in 15 complexes ordered by LH, and supervision, which should have addressed this, was not properly conducted. It was also revealed that supervision work was concentrated in companies staffed by LH retirees. Ultimately, the conclusion is that the overall system failure spanning design, construction, and supervision is the problem. On the 12th, Asia Economy held a roundtable at the Asia Media Tower in Jung-gu, Seoul, to diagnose the structural problems of the Korean construction industry related to recent poor construction and to seek solutions. Participants included Eunhyung Lee, Research Fellow at the Korea Construction Policy Research Institute; Jungtaek Lim, CEO of J Plus Architecture; Jungyeon Won, Professor of Architecture at Korea University; and Heesung Cha, Professor of Architecture at Ajou University (in alphabetical order). The Asia Economy Chatham House roundtable discloses the list of participants but anonymizes each speaker's remarks. The following is the full transcript of the discussion.

Participants are discussing the topic "Structural Problems of the Korean Construction Industry, Is There No Solution?" on the 12th at Asia Media Tower in Jung-gu, Seoul. From the left clockwise: Jeong-Yeon Won, Professor of Architecture at Korea University; Hee-Seong Cha, Professor of Architecture at Ajou University; Jeong-Taek Lim, CEO of J Plus Architecture; Eun-Hyung Lee, Research Fellow at the Korea Construction Policy Research Institute. Photo by Dong-Joo Yoon doso7

Adverse events related to the construction industry continue, including poor construction issues. What do you see as the biggest problem?

Korean construction companies possess world-class technology and construction capabilities. Yet, these poor construction incidents occur because manuals are not followed. When participating in overseas projects, manuals are taken very seriously. Constructors must obligatorily familiarize themselves with them, and Construction Management (CM) personnel meticulously check whether the manuals are applied on-site. In contrast, in Korea, the construction schedule always takes priority. On-site, unexpected situations can arise. For example, if a ready-mixed concrete strike delays the schedule by about two weeks, there is pressure to catch up, leading to ignoring the manuals. In the case of the Geomdan New Town parking lot collapse, the load was fixed, but ignoring the manual, materials were piled up excessively, causing the structure to collapse. Overseas, specifications are more important than drawings. In Korea, it's the opposite. More effort is put into drawings, and specifications are hastily prepared just before submission. Even the specifications prepared this way are rarely carefully read on-site.

I want to point out the lack of professional ethics. Overseas, architecture and architectural engineering students must take ethics courses. This is because architects, like doctors, must have a sense of ethics since architecture directly relates to public safety. The problematic apartment flat slab structure is a very common type of building. Constructing flat slab apartments does not require highly advanced engineering. Ultimately, since architecture is human work, those engaged in the profession must receive proper ethics education and develop ethical awareness.

With LH's poor construction issues emerging, the problems of preferential treatment for retired officials and cartels have also come to light.

According to the ranking by the world's most trusted U.S. construction magazine, Engineering News-Record (ENR), Korean construction companies rank among the top five. This means the technology is already secured. The fundamental problem in this incident is that the areas of design, construction, and supervision all failed to properly manage their responsibilities. All three sectors malfunctioned. The system to ensure proper operation is broken. Social and workforce structures have changed. Above all, the workforce issue is critical. Young workers are not entering the field, and most on-site workers are foreign laborers. The root cause is the low treatment and lack of recognition of technical personnel's importance. There is even a joke that elderly supervisors at design offices go to supervision sites as long as they can hold a cane.

That's right. Workforce supply is one of the most difficult issues. Especially in supervision, about 70% of personnel are in their 60s. Most supervisors are not professional supervisors but retired construction company employees using their accumulated experience in retirement. There is also a structural problem in securing the independence of supervision work. Supervisors belong to the client or the construction company. Also, to reduce costs, supervision personnel are often minimized. Sometimes only two supervisors oversee an entire apartment site, making thorough supervision difficult.

LH's cartel has been pointed out as a factor that exacerbated the poor construction incidents. How deeply rooted do you think this problem is?

It is right to curb cartels. However, I oppose the idea that retired personnel should not be used at all. Capable individuals should be able to re-employ their experience, but there should be clear standards on how far to restrict meetings between LH retirees and current employees.

The problem with preferential treatment arises because companies employing retired officials are often selected. Therefore, the problem lies with LH, the selecting entity. Although there are separate judges for company selection, LH decides how to compose the judging panel, so it can influence the process.

LH's functions are too large. Some functions need to be decentralized. LH is involved in everything from design review, selection, to ordering. Colleagues handle ordering, construction, and design all at once. Roles such as ordering, execution, and design should be divided to enable mutual checks and balances. Regarding retired officials, I agree with Panelist A. Retired officials are personnel with accumulated know-how in one field. Eliminating them outright would be a social waste. It is better to properly utilize such human resources.

LH is being criticized, but is this only LH's problem or a problem of the entire construction industry?

Besides LH's moral hazard, the structural problems of Korea's construction market must also be considered. In public apartments, construction costs are set low. Especially in Korea, where design service fees are not heavily spent, low construction costs mean little is spent on structural design. When poor construction issues arise, responsibility should not be placed solely on companies or individuals. Instead, discussions on appropriate construction cost levels and creating an environment for proper construction should precede punishment. Simply strengthening punishment regulations may create an atmosphere where supervision work is avoided. The reason construction costs remain low is the proliferation of construction-related companies. Someone always accepts low-priced projects.

Korea's construction costs are only one-third of the U.S. and one-quarter of Japan's. Although Korea has become an economic powerhouse, construction costs have not changed much in 20 years. Attempts to change this are lacking. There are thousands of construction companies, many of which only have a phone on their desks. Since construction demand is limited and many companies compete, there is no incentive for clients to raise construction costs.

CM authority should be strengthened. CM has huge responsibilities but no authority. For example, even with manuals, construction cannot be done according to them. If risks are found on-site, CM should have the authority to stop construction. CM should have the power to immediately suspend operations if they issue a formal notice. It is difficult to halt construction while seeing the constructor struggling with the schedule. Also, if construction is delayed, CM shares responsibility for the schedule, making it burdensome to exercise such authority. Overseas, project schedules are managed through Quantity Surveying (QS), which objectively monitors the project like an accountant. In Korea, everything is pushed through with a single contract.

It is said that young workforce inflow into the construction industry is lacking. What are the reasons?

Compared to other professions, the relatively low salary causes many young people to feel deprived. Many students majoring in architecture end up working in finance sectors like asset management. For example, I joined in 1997, and design fees have barely increased with inflation. Since costs have not risen much, wages have not increased significantly compared to other industries.

By the third year of university, more students seriously consider leaving architecture. The higher the school's ranking, the higher the rate. Among Korea's top three universities, less than 30% of students continue with design until the end. This is directly linked to financial compensation, as design fees are set too low. In public projects, design fees often account for only 1-2% of total costs. A virtuous cycle where design firms sustain themselves and develop professional personnel should operate, but appropriate compensation is lacking.

Finally, what policy areas need revision or urgent improvement?

After the Geomdan New Town underground parking lot collapse, many people developed vague fears about flat slab structures. In the U.S., flat slab structures have been recognized for decades as economical and a representative method to secure floor height. However, in Korea, recent anxiety about flat slab structures has spread socially to the extent that structural engineers say they would reject reviews involving flat slabs.

Our society tends to create regulations first whenever problems arise. We need to examine fundamental issues and find solutions based on them. I cannot understand the idea of the structural review committee reviewing flat slabs. It implies that experts do not trust other experts and want to filter through another review, which seems excessive.

The problem is not the absence of regulations. Creating more regulations to improve existing ones means piling up layers of regulation. The important thing is to have the capacity to properly implement regulations.

When I attended a conference in Las Vegas last year, the keyword was 'ethics.' In the future, ethics education should be mandatory for architecture and architectural engineering majors. A culture where engineers, structural experts, designers, and others in construction-related fields have ethical awareness must be fostered. Especially, re-education of technical personnel, which has been neglected or conducted superficially, should be properly addressed this time.

Moderator = Kangwook Cho, Head of Construction and Real Estate Department