Assemblyman Yoon’s Office Compiles List of Contractors Awarded by Five Major Public Institutions
It has been revealed that construction companies with frequent fatal industrial accidents have won multiple contracts for projects commissioned by public institutions. The government has announced that, going forward, companies with a certain number of fatal accidents will be restricted from bidding on public construction projects.
According to data submitted to Assemblyman Yoon Jongoh of the Jinbo Party, a member of the National Assembly’s Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, 13 people have died due to industrial accidents at Kyeryong Construction Industrial sites from 2019 through August of this year. This is the fifth highest number among all construction companies. Considering that Kyeryong Construction Industrial is ranked 15th in terms of construction capacity, the number of fatalities is high relative to the company’s size. In comparison, Hoban Construction, ranked 12th, had 2 fatal accidents, Doosan Enerbility (ranked 14th) had 2, and Jeil Construction (ranked 17th) had 1, making Kyeryong Construction Industrial’s record notably worse.
Workers are working at a construction site in Goyang City, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Yonhap News Agency
Despite the frequent fatal accidents, these companies have continued to win numerous public contracts. According to Assemblyman Yoon’s office, which compiled contract data from five major public institutions with large construction volumes-Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation, Multifunctional Administrative City Construction Agency, Korea Expressway Corporation, and National Railroad Authority-Kyeryong Construction Industrial secured contracts worth 2.7 trillion won over the past five years.
Kyeryong Construction Industrial won 34 contracts worth 923.8 billion won from LH over the past five years, the highest number of contracts and the third highest in terms of value. For the National Railroad Authority, it secured 8 contracts worth 1 trillion won, the most among all construction companies. This indicates that frequent fatal accidents have not affected their eligibility in public project bidding evaluations.
Taeyoung Construction and Geukdong Construction have also frequently won public contracts despite repeated accidents. Taeyoung Construction, ranked 19th, has had 10 fatal accidents but still secured about 1.2 trillion won in contracts from the five public institutions. Geukdong Construction, ranked 55th, recorded 9 fatal accidents, yet its public contract awards also totaled 1.2 trillion won.
These construction companies have a disproportionately high number of fatal accidents relative to their size. Large companies such as Hyundai Engineering & Construction and GS Engineering & Construction, which have larger operations and more sites, have also experienced frequent fatal accidents and have consistently won public contracts. Assemblyman Yoon’s office pointed out, “Even when a serious industrial accident occurs, it takes a long time for administrative actions to be finalized due to lawsuits filed by the companies. There are no restrictions preventing construction companies from continuously winning public contracts.”
Jinbo Party Floor Leader Yoon Jong-oh is meeting with Environment and Labor Committee Chairman Ahn Ho-young in July at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, regarding the amendment of Articles 2 and 3 of the Labor Union Act. Photo by Yonhap News Agency, provided by Jinbo Party
In the detailed criteria for the contract award system, safety-related factors account for only about 0.8 to 2 points out of a possible 100, making their impact negligible. This means that low safety scores do not affect the evaluation results. Factors such as the number of fatalities in the past five years are not currently considered. To address these issues, the government plans to change the current policy of restricting public bidding for “two deaths in a single accident” to a system that restricts companies with “multiple annual fatalities.” As President Lee Jaemyung has strongly criticized companies with frequent industrial accidents, the standards for restricting public bidding will be further strengthened.
Assemblyman Yoon stated, “Allowing construction companies responsible for major accidents and the deaths of on-site workers to win public contracts without restriction goes against public sentiment. The detailed criteria for public contract awards must strengthen the safety management score and include additional factors such as the number of fatalities and accident evaluations from the past five years.”
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