Selection of Suspected Sites Using Early Warning System
"Strict Penalties for Violations... Determined to Eradicate Unlawful Practices"
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will launch a large-scale on-site crackdown for 50 days, from August 11 to September 30, to eradicate illegal subcontracting at construction sites.
This crackdown will combine the Ministry's exclusive authority to inspect illegal subcontracting with support from the Ministry of Employment and Labor in the areas of safety and wages. Ten public institutions with large volumes of construction orders, including local governments, Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), Korea Expressway Corporation, and the National Railroad Authority, will also participate.
Sangkyung Lee, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (center), is reviewing the crackdown plan with local government, public institution, and related ministry officials at the joint illegal subcontracting crackdown meeting held on the 8th at the Government Seoul Office. Provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport
On the morning of August 8, Sangkyung Lee, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, held a meeting with metropolitan governments, public institutions, and related ministries at the Government Seoul Office to review each institution's crackdown plan.
Before the crackdown, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will distribute a crackdown manual to relevant agencies and conduct online group training. The ministry also plans to establish a cooperative system to regularly share and improve the status of the crackdown.
Vice Minister Lee stated, "The government will impose strict penalties on companies found to have engaged in illegal subcontracting through this strong crackdown," adding, "We will ensure that this crackdown does not end as a one-time inspection or a mere formality, and will develop various policies to eradicate chronic illegal subcontracting practices at construction sites based on the results of this operation."
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will prioritize sites where serious industrial accidents have occurred, sites with frequent wage arrears disputes, and sites suspected of illegal re-subcontracting identified by its early warning system. The Ministry's early warning system extracts problematic companies by linking the Construction Industry Information Network (Construction Industry Information Center) with the information networks of 40 related agencies.
On-site, the Ministry will focus on checking the legality of subcontracting contracts and identifying illegal subcontracting. At the same time, labor inspectors from the Ministry of Employment and Labor will be deployed to conduct unannounced inspections of safety measures in high-risk processes such as framework, civil engineering, and plastering, as well as to verify whether wages are paid in full and directly to workers.
Changjun Kwon, Vice Minister of Employment and Labor, said, "We can no longer overlook the transfer of industrial accident and wage arrears risks to workers in the widespread illegal subcontracting practices in the construction industry," adding, "The joint supervision by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of Employment and Labor demonstrates the government's strong commitment to eradicating illegal subcontracting. We will continue to actively cooperate as a one-team with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and other related ministries in the future."
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