Chairman Choi Sam-kyu of the Construction Association of Korea (CAK) has been named to serve his second term as the 26th chairman of the CAK. The move came at the CAK’s 56th representatives meeting on Feb. 18 at the Imperial Hotel in Seoul, which unanimously named Choi to serve his second term as the CAK chairman for another three years from March 1, the CAK said.
The Chairman Recommendation Committee of the CAK decided to recommend a second term for the current chairman last month, which virtually opened the way for Choi to serve another three-year term.
Among Choi’s achievements in leading the CAK for the past three years include the reductions in sales taxes for properties, the suspension of transfer taxes on the home sales, and the easing of regulations so that the upper floors of existing commercial buildings can be built, all for the purpose of reviving the property market from the downturn.
He also has won a lot of respect from the construction community for his managerial style — gentle at all times, yet quick to take action when needed to solve problems for the CAK and its member firms. He is considered to have made a substantial contribution to the construction industry suffering from the sluggish construction market both at home and abroad by taking appropriate actions to ease the pain.
Industry sources said he still has a lot of work to do including the easing of regulations allowing the lowest bidding price to win a bid and other issues, but it is expected that he will handle them well.
Chairman Choi, on his reappointment, said he will do his best to find work for the construction industry through cooperation with other industries, while helping the government’s three-year economic reform plan.
He will also try to improve the working environment for the construction industry to the extent that construction firms will be able to secure guarantees in order to clear a proper amount of profits from their construction projects and also come up with a replacement system that ensures the lowest bidder wins bids in order to boost the bid winning rate to the 80 percent level.
Choi, who hails from Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, has been the head of I-hwa Kongyoung Construction since 1971. He has held various positions in the construction industry including chairman of the Seoul City CAK in 2009, a member of the representatives for the CAK, and the 16th head of the CAK Ethics Committee, among others.
The CAK’s main operation include doing research/study on the laws, rules, regulations and systems pertaining to the construction industrial business and recommendation for improvement thereof to the government authorities concerned; Research/Study and guidance on matters concerning the promotion of construction business, the rationalization of business management and the improvement of construction technology; Statistical survey on the construction industry; Survey/Public announcement on labor wages and demand-supply of construction materials; Promotion of international cooperation and partnership with foreign contractors and international organizations related to construction industry; Study/Survey on the construction industry-related legislation and systems in major foreign countries and collection/exchange of the overseas information and know-how on the construction industry.
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