Korea Construction Policy Research Institute marks 20th anniversary

Seminar to address innovation strategies, AI amid market transition

'Next 20 years expected to bring more fundamental change'

The Korea Construction Policy Research Institute's 20th anniversary ceremony and seminar. [Provided by Korea Construction Policy Research Institute]
The Korea Construction Policy Research Institute's 20th anniversary ceremony and seminar. [Provided by Korea Construction Policy Research Institute]

The Korea Construction Policy Research Institute will mark its 20th anniversary by hosting discussions on how the spread of AI and smart construction is transforming the construction industry and what strategies specialty contractors should adopt in response.

The institute announced Monday that it will hold a 20th anniversary ceremony and seminar Thursday at the Specialty Construction Hall in Dongjak-gu, Seoul. The seminar will be held under the theme "Vision and Innovation Strategies for the Specialty Construction Industry in an Era of Transformation."

The event will cover innovation strategies for navigating a construction market in transition — marked by prolonged low growth, rising construction costs and project financing uncertainty — as well as the impact that AI and automation technologies are expected to have on the specialty construction sector.

The keynote address will be delivered by Park Sang-woo, a former minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport who also served as the institute's fourth president. Speaking under the title "Giving the Construction Industry Wings with AI," Park is expected to examine the changes and opportunities AI will bring to the sector and outline directions for the government, academia and research institutions to follow.

He will propose that the government build a construction big data platform, streamline regulations and foster a construction technology ecosystem, while urging academia to develop interdisciplinary talent and establish technology verification frameworks. Research institutions, he said, should analyze how AI adoption is reshaping construction demand and production methods and disseminate those findings across the industry.

Park Seon-gu, head of the institute's economic and financial research division, will present first on the topic "Innovation Strategies for the Specialty Construction Industry in a Period of Transition," diagnosing the key challenges facing the sector. Drawing on that diagnosis, he plans to propose innovation strategies across five areas: regulatory and market structure, technology and productivity, workforce composition, finance and management, and market diversification.

Kim Tae-jun, head of the new growth strategy research division, will deliver the second presentation, titled "The Future of Specialty Construction Transformed by AI and Smart Construction." He will analyze how advances such as physical AI and the spread of digital twins could reshape construction sites, and outline directions for managing resulting changes in employment and creating new sources of added value.

A panel discussion will follow, moderated by Han Seung-heon, president of the Korean Society of Civil Engineers, under the theme "The Next 20 Years for Specialty Construction: What Must We Prepare?" Industry, academic and research experts will discuss policy responses together.

"The next 20 years for the construction industry are expected to bring faster and more fundamental change," said Kim Hee-su, president of the Korea Construction Policy Research Institute. "We will proactively chart the future of the construction industry, drawing on field-rooted expertise and research capabilities."

Meanwhile, a construction market downturn and rising unsold units in regional areas have driven a growing wave of closures, particularly among regional construction companies. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Construction Industry Knowledge Information System, 641 general contractors nationwide had filed for closure as of Monday. Including specialty contractors, the total reaches 3,216.


shy@heraldcorp.com
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