"A presidential infrastructure council must be established to break down silos between ministries"

Han Seung-heon, president of the Korean Society of Civil Engineers, speaks at a press briefing in Sejong on Wednesday, urging the swift passage of the National Infrastructure Framework Act, which was jointly introduced by 36 ruling and opposition lawmakers. [Korean Society of Civil Engineers]
Han Seung-heon, president of the Korean Society of Civil Engineers, speaks at a press briefing in Sejong on Wednesday, urging the swift passage of the National Infrastructure Framework Act, which was jointly introduced by 36 ruling and opposition lawmakers. [Korean Society of Civil Engineers]

"Thirty-six ruling and opposition lawmakers have jointly introduced the National Infrastructure Framework Act. Enacting this law is urgent — to respond to the normalization of disasters driven by the climate crisis and to secure the critical national infrastructure needed to support advanced industries such as AI, semiconductors and biotech."

Han Seung-heon, president of the Korean Society of Civil Engineers, made the remarks at a press briefing in Sejong on Wednesday, saying there is a need to move beyond ministry-by-ministry silos and manage investment priorities, project execution and maintenance evaluation systems in an integrated manner.

Han said the Future National Infrastructure Innovation Forum, formed within the National Assembly, shares the goal of reestablishing national infrastructure as a core strategic national asset. The society is supporting the effort by helping design the legislation, conducting expert reviews and identifying follow-up policy tasks.

The infrastructure framework act being pursued by the society and the Assembly forum aims to bring together infrastructure across transportation, water resources, energy and advanced industries — including AI data centers — and manage them as the core foundation of national competitiveness.

To that end, the proposed law calls for moving away from ministry-by-ministry project management and establishing a presidential National Infrastructure Council to handle integrated review and coordination. The council would draw up five-year master plans, designate strategic projects, adjust investment priorities, conduct infrastructure assessments every three years and mediate inter-ministry disputes over funding.

The legislation would also include a strong implementation framework to allow projects designated as strategic priorities — particularly those tied to the three major mega-projects, national and economic security, public safety and future growth — to be advanced swiftly.

In addition, the law would expand the scope of infrastructure management beyond new construction to encompass performance, service-level and safety assessments as well as intelligent maintenance.

Han also said the approach to construction safety should shift away from punishment and toward a focus on technology, timelines, accountability and institutional systems. He noted that two members of the Korean Society of Civil Engineers were among the victims of the recent overpass demolition accident in Seodaemun, Seoul, and said the concept of demolition-specific design — distinct from construction design — must be reinforced without delay.

He said the society is participating in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's task force on aging infrastructure demolition. "Toughening penalties after an accident alone has limits in reducing risk, so we will work to introduce a prevention-oriented system in which technical judgment operates throughout the entire process of design, construction and maintenance," he said. He added that safety-related budgets and timelines must be calculated from the procurement stage, and that field data on construction, supervision and maintenance must be systematically accumulated alongside a clear allocation of responsibility.

Meanwhile, the Korean Society of Civil Engineers will hold its annual academic conference at High1 Convention in Gangwon Province from Oct. 21 to 23. The event will feature keynote addresses by Park Yun-young, chief executive of KT Corp, and Kim Jae-young, president of the HMG Construction Technology Research Institute, as well as a construction policy forum.


smh@heraldcorp.com