The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) said on the 15th that revisions to the Framework Act on the Construction Industry and the Saemangeum Development Act were approved at a Cabinet meeting.
The revision to the Framework Act on the Construction Industry gives the land minister the authority to impose administrative penalties for serious illegal subcontracting at construction sites, and creates grounds for reducing penalties for those who voluntarily report illegal subcontracting. It is set to take effect four months after promulgation.
Until now, rules required penalties to be imposed within six months of the date illegal subcontracting was detected, but the authority to impose those penalties had all been delegated to local governments. As a result, even when MOLIT detected illegal subcontracting, procedures were delayed after it requested penalties, as local governments conducted their own reinvestigations before reaching a final decision.
The revision to the Saemangeum Development Act broadens the range of local companies given preferential treatment in the Saemangeum project and improves the method of supplying developed land. It takes effect on the date of promulgation. Construction engineering firms with their main place of business in Jeonbuk State are expected to see wider opportunities to take part in the Saemangeum project.
The revision also added "cases in which land is supplied to a party selected through procedures and methods determined by the Saemangeum Development and Investment Agency administrator" to the list of cases eligible for private contracts for Saemangeum developed land. This makes public solicitation for mixed-use development in Saemangeum possible, which is expected to allow the project to accommodate a wider range of corporate investment demand.
