62nd Construction Day

Construction industry celebrates the event swearing to support government's Green Growth Plan

The Korean Federation of Construction Industry Societies (KFCIS) held a ceremony to celebrate the 62nd Construction Day at the Construction Hall on June 18 with some 700 people from the construction industry and related government officials led by Prime Minister Han Seung-soo in attendance. “Green Growth, the Construction Industry to Open up the Hope of Korea” was the theme of this year's Construction Day.
A total of 156 construction industry people won government medals or citations for making a contribution to the development of the construction industry during their careers.
Among the dignitaries at the ceremony included Minister Chung Jong-hwan of the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, Rep. Lee Byung-seok, chairman of the National Assembly Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs Committee and Chairman Kwon Hong-sa of the KFCIS.
Prime Minister Han, in his congratulatory speech, recalled that the construction industry has been a core force for the rapid growth of the Korean economy, especially during bad times, playing a key role in leading the economy out of trouble. The industry, he hoped, would also do the same to help beat the current economic woes and put it back on the right track.
The prime minister had high praise for the people in the industry for their contribution to making Korea a strong nation in the area of construction with intensity of mind powerful enough to split a boulder.
Han called on the construction industry to step up their efforts and work harder for the success of various government projects to spur economic growth including the early implementation of the budget, expansion of SOC investment, normalization of the housing market and the restoration of the four large rivers around the country.
The prime minister also hoped that the industry would play a key supporting role in the government's New Green Deal Project to restore the environment and blossom cultural flowers by increased investments in the development of construction technologies and turning out superior manpower.
Chairman Kwon said he welcomed the four river project that the government is pushing to revive the economy along with the green growth policies, as the construction industry will surely participate in the four river revival project and many other green growth projects to help it recover from the current crisis. He said the four river revival project and the Green New Deal have built a base for national economic recovery.
Kwon said those projects seem to help the local economy and the construction business recover from the current doldrums. He said, however, the projects should not be awarded to individual, big construction companies on a turnkey basis, instead many of them should be given to small and medium-sized builders to help them stay afloat by providing jobs to many people, thus helping to spur the growth of local economies.
“The joint undertaking of projects among large and small construction companies should be encouraged to give chances to the small construction firms to participate in large construction projects,” the KFCIS said.
Kwon, who also is chairman of the Construction Association of Korea (CAK), urged the early launch of the minimum price bidding system as a means to not only overcome the sluggish construction market, but to also advance the construction industry to the level of those in advanced countries, saying that the second half would see improvement in the construction and real estate markets, although it may not be by much.
The CAK chairman said the joint project undertaking would make the construction industry stable and help the industry overcome the current crisis. Just as important is the upper limit on apartment allocation pricing and the normalization of other regulations on residential construction to stabilize the construction industry.
Kwon said another important matter is the construction industry's efforts to help themselves break out of the doldrums, calling for some 800 trillion won in idle funds in the country to be mobilized to heighten the growth potential of the country's economy. nw

Minister Chung Jong-hwan of the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, Rep. Lee Byung-seok, chairman of the National Assembly Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs Committee and Chairman Kwon Hong-sa of the KFCISA as well as CEOs of construction firms attend the Construction Day celebration event.

Prime Minister Han Seung-soo makes a speech at a ceremony for 62nd Construction Day held on June 18 at Construction Hall in Seoul.