Seoul City Implements 'Supervision Fee Public Deposit System' for Private Construction Sites as Well

Expansion to All Autonomous Districts Next Month

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 4th that it will implement the 'Public Deposit and Payment System for Private Construction Supervision Fees' to enable private construction supervisors to carry out on-site supervision duties confidently without being influenced by the client, who is the project owner.

Private Construction Supervision Fee Public Deposit and Payment Agreement Ceremony (Provided by Seoul City)

As part of this initiative, the city signed a tripartite agreement yesterday involving the Seoul city government, the project owners, and the supervisors for two permitted construction sites (LG Science Park Phase 2 and Yeouido Residential Accommodation Facility).

This system requires the project owner to deposit the supervision service fees with a public entity such as the Seoul city government or district office, after which the public entity directly pays the supervisors. This system is already in place for housing construction projects under the Housing Act, and it is now being expanded to private construction sites.

Starting with the two construction sites under agreement, the city plans to extend the system to all 25 autonomous districts from next month. The target sites are those with a total floor area of 5,000㎡ or more, or multi-use buildings of 16 floors or higher where supervisors are stationed on-site.

The city explained that entrusting supervision fees to a public entity guarantees the independent activities of construction supervision from the project owner, who is the client. Going forward, this system will be implemented through tripartite agreements among the site permit authority, project owner, and supervisor. The city also stated that it is continuing discussions with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to establish legal grounds such as amendments to the Building Act.

Han Byung-yong, Director of the Seoul Housing Policy Office, said, "Through this agreement, supervisors will be able to act confidently without undue demands from project owners, which is expected to ultimately prevent poor-quality construction and contribute to the establishment of an advanced construction culture. We will continue to strive for the safety of private construction sites and innovation in the construction industry."