30 Years After Seongsu Bridge... Illegal Subcontractors Detected Again

It has been revealed that safety inspections for major infrastructure such as bridges and tunnels, commissioned by local governments and public institutions across the country, have been infiltrated by multi-layered illegal subcontracting structures.
The Metropolitan Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA) announced on the 18th that it had apprehended 40 individuals, including representatives of 26 safety inspection firms, for violating the Special Act on the Safety Control and Maintenance of Establishments and the Construction Technology Promotion Act. These companies had illegally subcontracted safety inspection and design services for major infrastructure, including bridges and tunnels, commissioned by local governments and public institutions. The primary contractors evaded detection by temporarily registering some subcontractor employees as their own staff or by issuing fake tax invoices unrelated to the actual work performed.
According to the police, from May 2023 to March of this year, a total of 115 safety inspection and design projects were illegally subcontracted without notifying the commissioning agencies. Among these, 14 projects were carried out by unregistered safety inspection firms, and 41 cases involved subcontractors further re-subcontracting the work. The main clients were five local governments and public institutions nationwide.
The police explained that some large safety inspection firms monopolized contracts by leveraging their track records in competitive bidding. When they lacked sufficient personnel to handle the volume, they passed on low-priced illegal subcontracts to smaller firms with fewer achievements. These firms, in turn, re-subcontracted the work to unregistered companies, which then conducted the on-site inspections.
Additionally, primary contractors increased their chances of winning regionally restricted bids by establishing multiple branch offices outside their headquarters. After securing contracts, they subcontracted the work in bulk, paying only 60-70% of the contract value to the subcontractors.
During this process, the main contractors disguised subcontractor employees as their own through false employment records and issued fake tax invoices to evade document checks by the commissioning agencies.
The police notified the five local governments and public institutions that commissioned the projects about the 26 violating firms. They also requested that the oversight and inspection of subcontracting practices and the safety of facilities—especially for safety inspections directly related to public safety, such as bridges and tunnels—be significantly strengthened.
The Special Act on the Safety Control and Maintenance of Establishments, enacted in response to the 1994 Seongsu Bridge collapse, completely bans subcontracting in safety inspections to prevent poor-quality work. The law also requires registered firms to have a certain number of qualified personnel and equipment to conduct inspections.
However, as recent incidents have shown, a firm responsible for the Jeongja Bridge in Bundang collapse in 2023 is currently on trial for falsely reporting the participation of engineers who were not actually involved.
In the Osan Retaining Wall collapse last July, authorities are investigating allegations of falsified personnel records and unauthorized subcontracting.
A police official stated, "Illegal subcontracting is a blind spot that is difficult for management authorities to detect and poses a serious risk of poor facility safety management. With penalties for falsifying safety inspection reports being strengthened, it is essential that service providers act responsibly." The official added, "We will continue to crack down not only on illegal subcontracting that threatens public safety but also on all forms of collusion and corruption related to these practices."

425_sama@fnnews.com Choi Seung-han Reporter