President Yoon Suk Yeol (Yonhap)
President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered a strong crackdown on systematic illegal activities at construction sites, reiterating his will to push for labor reforms, officials said Tuesday.
Eradication of illegal activities at construction sites is a key task for labor reforms for the Yoon government, which has operated a dedicated team of the Land Ministry and a special 200-day crackdown by the National Police Agency.
After being briefed on the current situation of violence at construction sites, Yoon ordered the prosecution, the police and ministries of land and labor to cooperate to “strongly crack down on organized illegal acts such as violence at construction sites,” according to his senior press secretary Kim Eun-hye in a written statement.
“The crackdown should not end temporarily,” Yoon was quoted as saying. “Until the construction violence is completely eradicated, we will strictly crack down on them and establish the rule of law at the construction site.”
“Keonpok,” an abbreviation for construction violence in Korean language, was coined during the meeting, similar to “jopok,” an abbreviation referring to organized crime.
An official from the presidential office explained at a press briefing in the afternoon that the expression was used to convey the seriousness of the problem. “Like organized violence or school violence, some strong union members systematically commit illegal acts at construction sites, causing enormous damage to companies and the national economy,” the official said.
The briefing was held immediately after the Cabinet meeting and was attended by the ministers of land and justice and the head of the national police agency. They discussed measures to eradicate forced recruitment and obstruction of construction at sites.
Land Minister Won Hee-ryong gave a briefing on a plan to suspend licenses if special technicians such as tower crane operators force construction companies to pay a monthly fee as a sort of bribery.
At the Cabinet meeting ahead of the briefing, Yoon also told officials, “If you see violence and illegality but neglect it, you cannot call it a state. Intensive inspection and crackdown on illegal activities should take place and strict action should be taken if illegal activities are revealed.”
MOST POPULAR