Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport conducts 15-day blitz inspection in May; 60 violations of construction industry law also found
Authorities uncovered 29 cases of illegal subcontracting — including work handed to unregistered and unqualified contractors — along with 60 violations of the Framework Act on the Construction Industry at construction sites across Greater Seoul.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Wednesday that a 15-day intensive inspection in May identified 29 illegal subcontracting cases involving 26 companies across 18 sites. Inspectors also resolved 11 cases of unpaid construction equipment rental fees totaling 125.8 million won ($82,900).
The inspection was led by a public-private task force headed by First Vice Minister Kim I-tak and targeted 63 sites flagged through AI analysis as suspected violators, as well as 12 sites where unpaid-fee complaints had been filed.
Of the illegal subcontracting cases detected, 20 involved work given to unregistered contractors — the most common violation — followed by five cases of prohibited re-subcontracting and four cases involving unqualified contractors.
Among the unregistered-contractor cases, one involved an officetel construction site in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, where temporary fencing work was subcontracted to a company not registered for metal window, roofing or prefabricated building work. Another involved a neighborhood commercial facility project in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, where masonry work was handed to a contractor lacking registration in painting, wet construction, waterproofing or stonework.
Unqualified-contractor violations included a case at a housing showroom renovation project in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, where an interior subcontract was expanded to cover exterior scaffolding and exterior work beyond the contractor's qualifications. At a mixed-use building project in Gangdong-gu, Seoul, scaffolding work was subcontracted to a company holding only a reinforced concrete construction license.
At a block housing redevelopment site, deck plate installation work within a reinforced concrete contract was structured as a materials supply agreement — with on-site installation conditions attached to the estimate — effectively bypassing the requirement for prior client approval and constituting illegal re-subcontracting. A separate apartment construction project was found to have re-subcontracted grouting work within earthwork and temporary facility contracts without meeting the conditions for permitted re-subcontracting or obtaining prior client approval, in violation of re-subcontracting restrictions.
The ministry said it will ask local governments to impose administrative penalties for the violations found and will pursue criminal referrals to police in parallel. Companies found in violation face up to one year of business suspension or a surcharge of up to 30 percent of the subcontract value, while their chief executives may face up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million won.
The ministry also said it will closely monitor other construction sites where the flagged companies are active to check for the same or similar violations, aiming to prevent repeat offenses.
The ministry added that it is pushing to amend the enforcement decree of the Framework Act on the Construction Industry so that the minister can directly impose stronger sanctions on habitual or large-scale illegal subcontracting.
"Unpaid fees at construction sites cause direct harm to equipment rental operators and on-site workers," Vice Minister Kim said. "We will strengthen routine inspections focused on sites with unpaid-fee complaints and suspected illegal subcontracting, and take strict action against any violations found."
smh@heraldcorp.com
