ROOTING OUT ILLEGAL BUILDING PRACTICES

[Anchor Lead]

The government decided to put in place measures to eradicate illegal acts that take place in construction sites such as demanding additional monthly fees to speed up the process. They're even considering ways to cancel operators' license if they do so. The labor circle protested the move, saying that they're blamed for all the wrongdoing that take place in construction sites.

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A new apartment construction site in Seoul. The builder claims to have paid tower crane operators 4.5 million won monthly in addition to their wages.

[Soundbite] (Building Company Official(VOICE MODIFIED)) : "(What happens when you don’t accept their demands?) They will work very slowly and delay the building process."

The government cited this monthly fee as the most common practice that should be abolished at construction sites. Authorities explain that around 60% of the recently surveyed illegal practices had to do with such additional monthly fee demands. Starting next month, an operator's license would be suspended when he demands such fees. The government is looking to revise the law so that when an operator demands a monthly fee, his business license would be revoked. Although the court had ruled that such additional monthly fees are not unreasonable, the government is determined not to back down.

[Soundbite] Won Hee-ryong(Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport) : "Although it’d be difficult to redeem the money because it’s hard to prove there were threats and pressure, we will put a legal ban on it from now on."

The prosecution and the police plan to set up a so-called construction violence investigation team. Threat and intimidation charges will be applied when forced hiring or union fee demands occur. The Korean Construction Workers Union agrees that additional monthly fees should be eradicated but protests that all the blame is placed on the union. Union officials claim that construction companies were the ones that first offered to pay these additional monthly fees in return for extra work.

[Soundbite] Jo Eun-seok(KCTU Construction Workers Union) : "When workers do not work dangerous jobs, construction will be delayed and become more costly. Monthly fees were created when an employer forced workers to do excessive work."

The union also criticized that only builders' stance was represented when legislators decided to ease the punishment for illegal foreign hires.