DL Construction names safety chief Ha Jeong-min as new CEO

DL Construction has appointed Ha Jeong-min, its chief safety officer (CSO), as the company's new CEO. Ha will continue to hold the CSO role concurrently after taking office, reinforcing a safety-centered management framework.

The company announced the appointment Monday. The move is an internal promotion focused on merit and competency, intended to strengthen the field-first management approach the company has maintained.

Born in 1974, Ha graduated from Sillim High School and joined Daelim Industrial — now DL E&C — in 2003 as an on-site safety manager. He subsequently obtained a construction safety engineer certification and rose through the ranks as a team leader at DL E&C and CSO at DL Construction before being named CEO.

Over more than 20 years, Ha worked across six project sites, including Saemangeum, the Dodam–Yeongcheon railway and the Sejong–Anseong expressway, and led key safety teams at headquarters, including the safety education operations, technical safety, and occupational health and safety teams. Last year, he was appointed CSO of DL Construction, where he led efforts to build a company-wide safety management framework and promote a culture of safety.

Particularly notable was his work to compile a database of approximately 22,000 construction accident cases along with risk factors and preventive measures across 940 types of work, using that data as the foundation for a safety execution manual system. The system allows workers and managers to check risk factors, accident cases and preventive measures in real time from the field via mobile devices.

Ha also analyzed risk factors across all project phases — design, construction, quality control and contracting — and overhauled safety standards and work processes. He integrated previously fragmented safety management systems and advanced risk assessments, while reestablishing safety management cost benchmarks for major construction processes.

Alongside Ha's appointment, DL Construction named four new executives: Noh Sang-woo, Park Dae-ho, Lim Chae-hyeon and Hwang Jin-hyeon. Two were born in the late 1970s and two in the early 1980s; all are in their 40s.

The company said it plans to place younger leadership at the forefront to boost organizational vitality and growth momentum, and to respond swiftly to changes in the business environment.