Na Seung-il of Samsung C&T among 14 honored with Silver Tower Industrial Medal
Samsung C&T, Hyundai Engineering among firms to receive 'Overseas Construction Tower'
South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will co-host the "2026 Overseas Construction and Plant Day" ceremony with the Overseas Construction Association of Korea and the Korea Plant Information & Technology Association at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Construction Hall in Seoul.
Held under the slogan "Building the Future Beyond the World," the ceremony will bring together business leaders, government officials and industry experts to proclaim a Team Korea future vision. Government commendations and citations will be presented to individuals who have contributed to the sector, while companies will receive the "Overseas Construction Tower" award.
About 500 people are expected to attend, including Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Hong Ji-seon, Overseas Construction Association of Korea Chairman Han Man-hee, heads of related industry bodies, executives and award recipients.
A total of 14 people will receive government commendations. Na Seung-il, a senior executive at Samsung C&T who helped generate roughly $11 billion in overseas contracts in sectors including airports and power generation, will receive the Silver Tower Industrial Medal. Baek In-hong, a senior executive at Daewoo Engineering & Construction who pioneered new overseas markets including a liquefied natural gas project in Mozambique, and Lee Hee-song, a vice president at SGC E&C who opened new markets in chemical plant construction, will each receive the Bronze Tower Industrial Medal.
The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister's commendation will go to 31 recipients, including Kim Seung-hyeon, a deputy director at Korea Expressway Corporation who contributed to expanding South Korean firms' overseas presence and strengthening their competitiveness through projects such as a private-investment road project in Turkey, and Kim Eun-hwan, a team leader at Samsung C&T who contributed to the advancement of overseas construction through successful project execution including a semiconductor factory in Texas.
The "Overseas Construction Tower" — a presidential award recognizing companies for their contributions to the overseas construction industry — will go to seven firms in total, including Samsung C&T, Hyundai Engineering, Posco E&C, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and Dohwa Engineering. Recipients were selected based on contract performance over the past two years. Samsung C&T will receive the $100 billion tower and Hyundai Engineering the $70 billion tower.
At the ceremony, Minister Hong is expected to commend the overseas construction industry for its efforts and announce that the government will inject 1 trillion won ($749 million) in fiscal funds to establish a new strategic fund worth 3 trillion won. The ministry also plans to set up a graduate school to train specialists in overseas investment and development projects and provide tailored support for South Korean firms expanding abroad, as part of a broader push to transform the overseas construction sector into a high-value-added industry built on technological capability and global financial foundations.
smh@heraldcorp.com
