Jeonnam Province Holds Construction Industry Technology Workshop in Gurye

Over 1,200 Participants from Academic Societies, Industries, and Associations
Sharing Construction Industry Outlook and Jeonnam Province Strategic Projects
Two Days Until the 27th... Youth and University Students Also Present

The "Construction Industry Technology Workshop" hosted by Jeonnam Province was held over two days starting on the 26th at Jirisan Family Hotel, with about 1,200 officials attending. The photo shows the opening ceremony of the workshop.
[Photo by Jeollanam-do]

The 'Construction Industry Technology Workshop' was held over two days on the 26th at The-k Jirisan Family Hotel in Gurye, attended by more than 1,200 people including Chung-gi Jeong, President of the Korean Society of Civil Engineers, Seong-ro Lee, Head of the Gwangju-Jeonnam Branch of the Korean Society of Civil Engineers, and Gwang-il Lee, Vice Chairman of the Jeonnam Provincial Council.

Hosted by Jeonnam Province and organized by the Gwangju-Jeonnam Branch of the Korean Society of Civil Engineers, this workshop introduced Jeonnam Province's efforts to secure social overhead capital (SOC) budgets to support the recovery of the construction industry's economy, which is facing a survival crisis due to a decrease in construction orders and jobs, as well as future strategic projects such as offshore wind power.

In addition to members of the Korean Society of Civil Engineers, various stakeholders including the Korea Construction Association (Jeonnam Branch), the Engineering Association, and construction companies participated alongside young university students related to construction in Gwangju and Jeonnam to explore and discuss the development direction of civil engineering technology responding to climate change and the potential for the construction industry's leap forward.

In particular, starting with a keynote presentation titled 'Current and Future Design and Construction of Undersea Tunnels' by Professor Hang-seok Choi of Korea University, the workshop shared research achievements such as 'Digital Transformation of the Construction Industry in the AI Era' by Professor Myung-hoon Jeong of Chosun University and 'Current Status of KEPCO's Offshore Wind Power Research and Development' by Ji-young Kim of Korea Electric Power Corporation, delivering a message of hope to young engineers.

Ho-gyu Yoo, Director of the Construction and Transportation Bureau of Jeonnam Province, said, “We send our thanks and applause for the continuous development of Jeonnam thanks to the sweat, passion, endless challenges, and innovation of construction workers,” and added, “Let us all in the construction family create a Jeonnam full of opportunities and hope for a new leap forward.”

Jeonnam Province reflected a budget of 702.9 billion KRW for social overhead capital projects, including the Wando-Gangjin Expressway service fee, in next year’s national treasury budget proposal amid the government’s fiscal tightening policy. Efforts are also underway to swiftly promote large-scale social overhead capital projects, including the offshore bridge connecting Geumo Island in Yeosu, to create an opportunity for the regional construction industry to make a new leap forward.

Furthermore, to protect the rights of small and medium construction companies and secure appropriate construction costs, Jeonnam Province has prepared the 'Jeonnam Construction Economy Revitalization Measures' and is proposing institutional improvements to central government agencies, such as revising regulations to restrict bidding qualifications for companies with fraudulent records and raising the minimum bid rate for construction contracts.