OTO No.

627

Classification

MOC-23

Date of Acceptance

November 8, 2000

Respective Office Receiving Complaint

Cabinet Office (Economic Planning Agency)

Responsible Ministries

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (Ministry of Construction)

Related Laws

Construction Business Law

Complainant

Republic of Korea Embassy (Proxy complaint)

Exporting Countries

Subject

Relaxation of permanent attendance and qualification requirements for managing engineers

Description of Complaint

The Construction Business Law requires managing engineers to undertake the technical management of construction work implementation at construction sites. Managing engineers must have relevant state qualifications, have had practical experience or have been identified as such by the minister of construction. Managing engineers must be assigned exclusively to a certain construction site (permanent attendance requirement).

For South Korean firms engaged in construction in Japan, only qualified engineers among South Koreans can get managing engineer certificates only after being identified by the minister of construction and undergoing managing engineer training.

However, qualified engineers at South Korean companies engaged in construction in Japan are mostly senior managerial officials and usually have difficulties undertaking permanent attendance at construction sites in Japan. As a result, South Korean companies are forced to employ qualified engineers or take other measures to meet the permanent attendance requirement. This has served as an impediment to investment in Japan.

Accordingly, the complainant requests that the ministry take the following steps to ease the above requirements:

(1) The permanent attendance requirement for managing engineers should be eased since companies implementing construction work take full responsibilities for the implementation and management of construction work.

(2) If the above step is difficult, lower-ranked qualified engineers in South Korea should be allowed to receive managing engineer certificates on condition of three or more years of practical experience after qualification, after being identified as such by the minister of construction and undergoing managing engineer training.

Details of Measures

The ministry replied as follows:

(1) Managing engineers are the highest-ranked technical supervisors of construction work. They undertake a wide range of duties including everything from the inspection of design books to the checking of construction drawings, the adjustment of relevant work and the management of work quality and safety at construction sites. Construction projects, where qualified managing engineers are required, mostly feature high publicness and must have high quality. Only strict construction management can ensure high quality. Accordingly, managing engineers for the management of construction implementation at sites must have certain or better levels of qualifications. The managing engineer requirement is also necessary for excluding rogue or unqualified construction companies including paper

companies that subcontract construction work without engineers. Therefore, the requirement for exclusive managing engineers at construction sites cannot be relaxed.

(2) Foreign qualified engineers willing to become managing engineers in Japan must be identified by the minister of construction as those who are as capable as or more capable than first-class qualified managing engineers in Japan. Requirements for lower-ranked qualified engineers in South Korea cannot be considered equal to or higher than those for first-class qualified managing engineers in Japan. Even if lower-ranked qualified engineers in South Korea have completed three or more years of practical experience after their qualification, no objective assessment system apparently exists to decide whether such practical experience is appropriate and sufficient. Therefore, the complainant$B!G(Bs requests cannot be met.

Status of Processing

Processed  (December 19, 2000)

Classification of Action

D

Remarks

A written reply was made on November 14, 2000.