Great Contribution to Korea's Take-Off

Kwon Hong-sa, chairman of the Construction Association of Korea, recalled in this interview with NewsWorld that this is the 60th anniversary year for the Korean construction industry, the industry that has made a startling contribution to the growth of the Korean economy both at home and works abroad.
The industry made a huge contribution to the miracle of the Han River, which describes the powerful track of growth of the Korean economy from the rubbles of the Korean War to astound the world and became a model case of the economic development.
The chairman also touches on the record set by the industry in overseas projects. Its overseas project orders last year broke the $16 billion mark since Korean builders first went abroad for construction projects in Thailand in 1965, making lot of contribution to uplifting national prestige and advancing construction technologies since then.
Following are excerpts from the interview:
Q: Korea's construction industry is traced back to 1947 for its beginning and it's been 60 years since the year. What is the significance of the long history for the industry?
A: In human life, the industry is faced with the chance for a new start. We cannot rest on our past glory in this rapidly changing construction world at home and abroad. We are being called on to change management to world level, make it more transparent and diversified. Abroad, we are being faced various challenges with competition getting intense and borderless.
As we face the next 100 years in our future, our construction industry should be reborn as a competitive industry with sustainable growth capacities by pooling the efforts of all the construction people together. This is the only way for us to remain as a core industry in the country after 40 years, not left behind as a declining industry as one of the three D industries.
Q: The roles of construction organizations such as the CAK have been indispensable in the growth of the industry thus far in leading the industry and improving various regulations and government policies. What do you think those organizations have done to make the construction industry what it is today?
A:The history of the Korean construction industry is no different from other industries. Our industry has become a nucleus industry in Korea, looking forward to a new millennium.
CAK has been like a big brother to its members, recommending ideas for new regulations and policies crucial to the industry to the government to act, to lead growth and protect the interest of the industry.
CAK also as a big bother, maintained a close cooperative relations with the construction sectors in Japan and China through the IFAWPCA in terms of technology exchange and other cooperative areas. Lately,
Q: The construction industry has made a huge progress in many areas such as management, technology, and business territory. Can you compare the industry from its beginning and now in terms of improvement?
A: At the start, the industry built infrastructure around the country in barren land because the Japanese colonial government only built scant infrastructure in the land during its occupation of Korea. In 1970, the number of construction firms in the country came only to 848, but it increased to 53,000 as of last year and the contract business contract expanded from 183.3 billion won to 110.383 trillion won, taking up 8.4 percent of GDP, construction investment rate 18.8 percent and employing 8.1 percent of total employment with over 2 million people working in the industry. Last year, overseas construction projects signed amounted to $16.5 billion and this year, the projection is set at $20 billion.
Q: What should be the direction for the industry with a new future and vision?
A: It should develop new construction technologies by investing more and training quality manpower to upgrade its international competitiveness. It has secure new engine of growth to remain as a core national industry. The government has to increase the budget for SOC and public construction projects, along with the expansion in private investment SOC projects. The government has to draw up real estate policies for local provinces different from the Seoul area so that construction firms in local regions should be able to undertake projects in local areas. nw

CAK Chairman Kwon Hong-sa delivers his speech at the 60th Construction Day ceremony.