ABSTRACT
The Korean construction industry has maintained high growth along with rapid growth of the whole economy over the past 40 years. However, it received a severe blow from the economic crisis at the end of 1997, after which construction output decreased by 20 per cent. As a result, the number of employed in the construction industry decreased from two million in 1997 to less than one and a half million in 1999. Moreover, the productivity of the construction industry is deteriorating because qualified workers are not willing to enter the industry. Low-skilled labor prevails in the Korean construction market. Nowadays construction workers suffer from mass unemployment, job insecurity, poor working conditions, low wages, and long work hours.
