Minister Suh Seoung-hwan of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport delivers 

his congratulatory speech at the 2014 Construction Day ceremony on June 18 

at the Construction Hall in Nonhyun-dong, Seoul. (Photos:FCA)

The Federation of Construction Associations (FCA) held the 2014 Construction Day ceremony at the Construction Hall in Nonhyun-dong, Seoul, on June 18 with a main theme of “Construction Together with People, to the World and Future.” Chairman Cho Sam-kyu opened the ceremony, which was led by Minister Suh Seoung-hwan of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and attended by Reps. Park Duk-hum, Cho Hyun-ryong and Shin Hak-yong, all members of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee of the National Assembly, along with 1,000 dignitaries and top executives of the leading member construction firms.

Chairman Choi Sam-kyu of the Federation of Construction Associations 

gives his opening speech a t the 2014 Construction Day ceremony on June 18 

at the Construction Hall in Nonhyun-dong, Seoul.

Minister Suh, in his congratulatory speech, highly praised the hard work done of the construction industry both at home and abroad and he sees no problems ahead in making the boosting the Korean construction industry to the rank of 5th largest in the world with everyone in the industry doing his or her best to work toward the goal of creating another legend. Suh added that the government will provide strengthened tailor-made financial support from now on to provide a stepping stone for further development with simple subcontract projects replaced by high value-added investment projects. The government will also help train manpower for the industry, especially for firms operating overseas, in an effort to ensure their sustainable growth.

In his opening speech, the chairman congratulated the winners of medals in recognition of their contributions to the construction industry’s development, urging everyone in the industry to move together to help the industry open a better future. Altogether 152 people working for the industry won government medals and citations at the ceremony.

Winning the Industrial Merit Gold Medal were President Park Jong-woong of Samil Enterprise and President Kim Kyung-bae of Korea Integrated Construction Co. with President Shim Sang-jo of Daeyu Construction and President Chung Soon-kui of Chinhung Construction and Technology winning the Industrial Merit Silver Medals at the ceremony. President Kim Kwang-hwan of Yukyung Engineering Co. won the Industrial Merit Bronze Medal.

Chairman Choi, in his congratulatory speech, recalled that the construction industry in Korea has come a long way to get where it is today — the 10th largest in the world since its birth 67 years ago — leading the astounding growth of the national economy.

However, since the 1998 financial crisis the industry has been in trouble due to the slowdown in the construction market, the chairman said, with the national economy facing sluggish growth with the situation worsening so much so that many construction firms are on the edge of being forced out of business, shaking the foundation of the industry.

The chairman called on the government to reform the regulations by removing those that have been strangling the construction firms and excessive punishment for those construction firms that broke the rules. He also called for doing away with the ceiling for apartment prices, which has been choking the real estate market, along with and various financial regulations which block the growth of the construction industry.

The FCA chairman also called for the early conclusion of government investigations on collusion among construction firms in public biddings for construction projects so that those firms being investigated can go back to their normal operations as soon as possible.

He also called on construction firms to pay more attention to safety, quality, and environment, which have often been neglected, for their growth in quality. “We should take the lead in making people’s properties valuable and safe by doing our best,” the chairman said.