Large elevated work platforms capable of operating at heights above 100 meters at massive construction sites such as semiconductor clusters and AI data centers have been designated as construction machinery. [Provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport]
Large elevated work platforms capable of operating at heights above 100 meters at massive construction sites such as semiconductor clusters and AI data centers have been designated as construction machinery. [Provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport]

Large elevated work platforms capable of reaching heights above 100 meters — used at massive construction sites such as semiconductor clusters and AI data centers — will be officially designated as construction machinery, easing restrictions on their operation and resolving longstanding difficulties in billing for their use.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Monday it would designate "large elevated work platforms" capable of working at heights above 100 meters as construction machinery, a move aimed at improving safety and efficiency at large-scale sites. The change is expected to enable safer and more systematic high-altitude work at major facilities including semiconductor clusters and wind power plants.

The Construction Machinery Management Act currently designates 27 types of construction machinery, including excavators, tower cranes and special construction machinery. The last category covers equipment fitted with specialized attachments for professional tasks and is separately designated by the minister of land, infrastructure and transport.

The need for large elevated work platforms has grown as the number of massive construction sites — including semiconductor clusters, AI data centers and giant wind turbines — has increased, with conventional machinery such as cranes proving insufficient for work at extreme heights.

Standard aerial work platforms, commonly known as sky lifts, are currently registered as special-purpose vehicles. Large platforms exceeding 40 metric tons in gross weight have been effectively barred from vehicle registration, however, due to road-use restrictions under the Road Act.

Because they also fell outside the scope of the Construction Machinery Management Act, the platforms existed in a regulatory blind spot that made deploying them at construction sites difficult.

The ministry said it actively incorporated demand from semiconductor cluster and wind power sites in deciding to add large elevated work platforms exceeding 40 metric tons in gross weight to the special construction machinery category, and has established detailed standards covering specifications and licensing requirements.

Under the new rules, large elevated work platforms may be registered and used after passing type approval and initial registration inspections. At construction sites, they may be operated with a crane operator's license, and when disassembled for transport to a weight of 40 metric tons or less, they may be driven on public roads with a Class 1 large vehicle driver's license.

"Introducing large elevated work platforms is expected to dramatically improve the safety and efficiency of new construction on high-rise and large-scale buildings, as well as maintenance work on existing structures," said Kim Sung-hwan, head of the ministry's construction industry division. "We plan to continue innovating so that newly emerging advanced equipment can be deployed freely at construction sites to boost productivity."


smh@heraldcorp.com