South Korea's AI-assisted construction crackdown uncovers 29 violations in Seoul area
South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport conducted a two-week inspection of 75 construction sites in the greater Seoul area and uncovered 29 cases of illegal subcontracting. The investigation, which ran from May 11 to 29, also recovered 125.8 million won in overdue equipment payments.
The ministry used AI technology to identify 63 suspect sites, then combined those leads with 12 sites where nonpayment had already been reported. Joint inspection teams from the ministry and the Korea Construction Equipment Association visited each location.
What inspectors found
Twenty cases involved assigning work to unlicensed, unregistered companies. Four cases involved subcontracting to firms lacking required trade qualifications. Five cases violated re-subcontracting limits.
At an officetel project in Seoul's Gwangjin District, the prime contractor passed fence installation work to an unlicensed company. In Pyeongtaek, another firm assigned specialized masonry work to an unregistered subcontractor.
Inspectors also documented cases where contractors sidestepped qualification requirements. One company handed exterior temporary works to a firm holding only an interior construction license. Another assigned scaffolding work to a company licensed only for rebar and concrete.
Re-subcontracting schemes proved harder to detect. At one site, a subcontractor disguised an illegal re-subcontract as a materials supply agreement, but labor costs and on-site installation terms in the contract exposed the violation.
Next steps
The ministry will request administrative sanctions from local governments and file criminal complaints with police. It plans to expand inspections to other sites where the violating companies operate.
The ministry is also pursuing legal changes to strengthen enforcement. A draft amendment to the Construction Industry Framework Act would allow the minister to impose direct sanctions on habitual or large-scale illegal subcontracting.
Kim Ei-tak, the ministry's First Vice Minister, said payment arrears directly harm equipment lending businesses and on-site workers. The agency plans to intensify regular inspections at sites with documented arrears.
Learn more about AI for Real Estate & Construction and how AI Agents & Automation are being deployed in compliance monitoring.
Your membership also unlocks:
