The Korea Institute of Registered Architects (KIRA) held a nationwide rally of some 500 architects in front of the Government Complex Sejong on Monday, calling for the full withdrawal of the government's proposed amendment on demolition supervision.
The "National Architects' Rally Against the Amendment of Subordinate Statutes to the Building Management Act" was organized to formally express the architecture industry's opposition to the "Partial Amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Building Management Act" and the "Partial Amendment to the Enforcement Rules," which the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) announced for legislative notice on April 10. The deadline for submitting comments is May 20.
The amendment centers on two key changes. The enforcement decree would allow construction project managers to be designated as the primary demolition supervisors for public-sector projects with a total construction cost of 20 billion won ($14.7 million) or more. The enforcement rules would establish grounds for a single supervisor to oversee multiple sites simultaneously.
The association argues that the amendment undermines the essential function of supervision in the name of administrative efficiency. Placing construction management and supervision within the same structure could lead to "self-supervision," weakening independent judgment, while overseeing multiple sites would reduce responsiveness and focus, the group said.
The architecture industry has been escalating its opposition in recent weeks. The head of the Seoul Association of Architects held a head-shaving ceremony on April 20, and KIRA Chairman Kim Jae-rok staged back-to-back solo protests in front of the former presidential office Cheong Wa Dae and the National Assembly on April 28 and 29. Eight architecture-related organizations jointly submitted a statement of opposition to MOLIT on April 28.
"During the legislative notice period, we will gather the views of architects across the country and continue to raise the problems of the amendment to the end," said Jung Nae-soo, chairman of the emergency response committee.
