Keangnam Enterprises earns top rating in ministry's mutual cooperation assessment for 2nd consecutive year

Keangnam Enterprises, the construction arm of SM Group, announced Thursday it had received the top rating for the second consecutive year in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's mutual cooperation assessment for construction companies.

The ministry conducts the annual assessment to promote balanced development across the construction industry by encouraging cooperation between general and specialty contractors, as well as between large and small firms, with the aim of improving project execution and construction capacity.

First introduced in 1998, the assessment evaluates companies on joint contracting performance, subcontracting practices, partner development and credibility, then assigns one of five ratings: excellent, good, satisfactory, average or insufficient.

The top "excellent" rating requires a total score of 95 or above. This year, 28 companies, including Keangnam Enterprises, achieved that mark. Twelve companies scored 90 or above for the "good" rating, while 15 companies earned the "satisfactory" rating with scores of 80 or above.

Keangnam Enterprises scored 95 or above for the second year running, retaining the top rating it first received last year.

The company attributed the strong result to its internal fair-trade policies and standing support programs for partner firms, both aligned with SM Group Chairman Woo Oh-hyun's management philosophy of mutual growth.

Construction companies that receive the top rating are eligible for bonus points in pre-qualification evaluations and construction capacity assessments conducted by the Public Procurement Service and local governments for public tenders.

"We are proud that the efforts made across SM Group's construction division to realize the values of mutual cooperation and shared growth have once again been recognized with the top rating, as they were last year," CEO Lee Gi-dong said. "We will continue to build on mutual trust within the construction industry to strengthen our competitiveness, and work even harder to set an example in supporting our partner companies."