Daewoo Engineering steps up fair trade, co-prosperity push in construction sector

Daewoo Engineering is accelerating efforts to spread a culture of mutual cooperation and fair trade in the construction industry.

According to industry sources Thursday, Daewoo Engineering attended the "Construction Industry Mutual Cooperation and Fair Trade Agreement" ceremony on May 28, signing a pact with the Korea Fair Trade Commission and the Korea Specialty Contractors Association to build a cooperative framework aimed at establishing fair order in contractor-subcontractor transactions, improving unfair practices and protecting subcontractors.

The key provisions of the agreement include prompt payment and abolition of retainage, improvement of unfair contract terms, establishment of a subcontract payment indexing system, adjustment of supply prices during emergencies, creation of a subcontract dispute resolution body and formation of a public-private consultative body.

Daewoo Engineering said it has already been implementing most of the agreement's provisions and has continuously pursued a range of support activities to foster co-prosperity with its partner companies.

Since 2012, the company has operated a co-growth fund to ease the financial burden on partner firms. This year, the fund stands at 14 billion won (approximately $9.2 million).

To strengthen safety management capabilities among partner companies, Daewoo Engineering provides support for safety officer salaries and safety consulting to help build occupational health and safety systems. The company also runs a range of co-prosperity programs — including contributions to a mutual cooperation fund, support for improving partner companies' safety, health and employee welfare, and consulting and evaluation support for environmental, social and governance management — to secure a sustainable foundation for shared growth.

Daewoo Engineering has also held an annual "Outstanding Partners Co-Growth Forum" since 2007 to realize the value of shared growth and spread a culture of mutual cooperation with partner companies. At this year's forum, the company shared plans to introduce a "safety rating system" that would award bid preference points to partner firms with strong safety management records, underscoring its commitment to building a safety-centered cooperative framework.

"This agreement is a meaningful effort to spread a fair trade culture within the construction industry and to embed the subcontract payment indexing system on the ground," a Daewoo Engineering official said. "We will continue to expand practical co-prosperity activities — including operating the co-growth fund and providing safety and health support — to take the lead in building a construction industry ecosystem where we grow together with our partner companies."

Meanwhile, Daewoo Engineering has set "Challenge for the Future, Hyper E&C" as its management vision for 2026, built around three core values: Hyper Safety, Hyper Quality and Hyper Connect.