SEOUL, Dec. 10 (Korea Bizwire) – Leading South Korean construction companies are grappling with mounting profitability challenges as the industry faces a prolonged downturn. Cost-to-sales ratios have climbed above 90%, up sharply from the traditional mid-80% range in recent years, with some firms seeing ratios exceed 95%. According to NICE Information Service, the average cost-to-sales ratio for [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea added more than 100,000 jobs for the third consecutive month in September, but jobs in the construction sector fell by the most ever amid an industry slowdown, data showed Wednesday. The number of employed people came to 28.84 million last month, up 144,000 from a year earlier, [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 9 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s job market presented a mixed picture in the first half of 2024, with significant job losses in construction and retail sectors contrasting with growth in social welfare and software development, according to a report released by Statistics Korea on October 8. The “Regional Employment Survey: Industrial and Occupational Characteristics [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 1 (Korea Bizwire) – In an innovative approach to environmental conservation, DL E&C, a major South Korean construction company, has introduced urban beekeeping at one of its construction sites, the company announced on September 30. This marks the first instance of a domestic construction firm establishing an urban apiary to promote biodiversity. The pilot [...]
SEJONG, Jul. 25 (Korea Bizwire) – The South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on July 24 that 12 new construction technologies, including a method for inspecting concrete cracks using autonomous drones, have been designated as innovative construction technologies for the first half of this year. Since 1989, the government has been designating new [...]
SEOUL, Jun. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — The Bank of Korea (BOK) said Wednesday that risks on short-term financing to construction projects have grown due to a slump in property markets and rising costs of construction materials. In a report, the BOK said the total value of outstanding short-term loans to finance construction projects, called project [...]
SEOUL, Jun. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — Domestic construction companies’ combined orders from the Middle East amounted to nearly US$10 billion so far this year, recording stellar growth from 2023, industry data showed Tuesday. According to the data from the International Contractors Association of Korea, domestic builders’ project orders from the Middle East amounted to $9.98 [...]
SEOUL, Mar. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — North Korea has been accelerating a project to construct regional factories, with mobilized troops completing excavation work so that modernized factories can be built, state media reported Friday. Ordered by its leader Kim Jong-un, North Korea kicked off a project last month to build modernized factories in 20 counties [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — Ailing builder Taeyoung Engineering & Construction Co. applied for a debt-restructuring program Thursday to tide over a cash crunch, raising concerns over troubled peers in South Korea. Taeyoung E&C submitted the application to its main creditor, the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB), after its board decided to request a [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 13 (Korea Bizwire) – Reducing inter-floor noise presents a significant challenge for construction companies, especially in light of the government’s recent announcement that apartments failing to meet new inter-floor noise standards will not receive construction approval. Despite the government’s initiative to address inter-floor noise concerns, it is imperative for construction firms to devise effective [...]