The 1st Construction Cooperation Committee Meeting Held
On June 12, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Construction Association held the '2025 1st Construction Cooperation Committee' meeting and unveiled a roadmap aimed at improving the image of the construction industry. The initiative seeks to restore public trust in the industry, which has been undermined by recurring issues such as shoddy construction, safety accidents, and poor on-site working conditions.
The new roadmap is guided by the vision of "Building Trust in the Construction Industry, Connecting Value for the Future," and sets out three main goals: spreading a safety culture led by the private sector, strengthening communication with young people, and establishing a fair market order. Under these goals, ten key tasks have been outlined.
On the 12th, participants of the 1st Construction Cooperation Committee meeting are taking a commemorative photo at the Construction Hall in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport
In the area of safety, CEOs of construction companies will personally inspect sites, and programs such as 'construction physicians' and 'safety mentor groups' led by retired engineers will be introduced. Standardized workwear will be implemented at small-scale sites, and a manual for urban traffic management will be developed. There will also be surveys on worker rest facilities and efforts to identify best practices in work-life balance.
For youth engagement, public content will be produced through YouTube channels and construction slogan contests, while 'smart construction experience programs' and technology competitions will be launched to increase young people's interest. A system for supporting startups and evaluating the use of smart construction will also be introduced.
To restore trust, the industry will strengthen social contribution activities, including integrity pledges and improving housing conditions for vulnerable groups. At the same time, standards for appropriate construction costs will be revised, and proper compensation for engineers will be ensured through normalization of design and supervision fees. Mentoring and career experience programs for young construction professionals will also be expanded.
The government plans to complete short-term tasks within this year and implement medium- to long-term tasks in stages by 2027. Progress will be reviewed and shared at the '2025 Smart Construction Expo' in November.
The Construction Cooperation Committee is a private-sector-led industry-academia-research-government consultative body launched in November last year with the participation of construction associations, academic societies, and experts, aiming to improve the negative image of the construction industry caused by repeated corruption and poor site conditions. The committee is co-chaired by Seoul National University Professor Jung Chungki (former president of the Korean Society of Civil Engineers) and Chungnam National University Professor Lee Jinsook (former president of Chungnam National University), and consists of the heads of 11 organizations (including the 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport) and private experts.
Since its launch, the committee has identified improvement tasks through the active work of four subcommittees?system improvement, social consensus, technological innovation, and happy workplaces. These tasks were refined through a working-level coordination committee involving deputy heads of organizations, leading to the development of the construction industry image improvement roadmap.
Jin Hyunhwan, 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "Today is a meaningful day as the Construction Cooperation Committee, which was launched to overcome challenges in the construction industry by turning crisis into opportunity, has announced a concrete roadmap. The government will actively support efforts to ensure these changes are felt by the public."
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