Hyundai Engineering, GS E&C 'very poor' in safety management: government

Officials from the Korea Authority of Land & Infrastructure Safety inspect a crumbled bridge deck in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, which was part of a highway construction project connecting Sejong and Anseong, Feb. 26, 2025. Ten workers at the site were either killed or injured when the accident happened one day earlier. Yonhap

Hyundai Engineering and GS E&C received “very poor” ratings in a government safety management assessment conducted on agencies and contractors involved in public construction projects.

The two builders are among 19 Korean construction firms rated in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's on-site safety management evaluation of project managers, construction firms and contractors in 2025.

The two major builders scored below 40 out of 100 and were categorized the lowest in the five-grade rating system.

The annual evaluation by the government, using a score-based grading system, lowers a score by one grade when a firm saw up to two workers' deaths at construction sites during the year. Two grades were deducted for up to four deaths, three grades for up to six deaths and those with seven or more deaths received the lowest grade.

Hyundai Engineering saw at least seven deaths last year at construction sites, including a new highway connecting Sejong and Anseong and apartment projects in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. Work sites run by GS E&C also saw multiple deaths in Busan and Seoul last year.

The government gave a very poor grade to 19 project authorities — local governments, state-run agencies — as well as four construction management firms. They were among 104 project authorities, 185 construction firms and 77 management firms that engaged in 283 projects with total construction costs of 20 billion won ($14 million) or higher.

The government has been conducting the evaluation since 2017 to encourage the country’s public bodies, private builders and construction management specialists to improve safety at their construction sites. The results began to be disclosed publicly starting in 2019. The evaluation is done under the country’s Construction Technology Promotion Act and its sub-statute of Guidelines on the Performance of Duties for Construction Work Safety Management.

"Our latest evaluation aims to punish those who neglect safety measures and reward those who strive to maintain safety," a Construction Safety Division chief under the ministry’s Construction Policy Bureau said.

The government released the evaluation results on the Construction Safety Management Integrated Information website at csi.go.kr.