The Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) has announced a review plan aimed at enhancing fairness and transparency ahead of the Yongin Advanced System Semiconductor Cluster national industrial complex project review.
On September 22, LH revealed that it has expanded the pool of candidates for review committee members and included a fair competition pledge ceremony in preparation for the upcoming review of the project plan for the first section of the Yongin Advanced System Semiconductor Cluster, scheduled for September 23.
During a preliminary briefing held on September 21, LH introduced the current composition of the review committee candidates. For this review, LH has assembled a total of 452 candidates, including 254 members from its Technical Advisory Committee and experts from other verified institutions.
The timely establishment of the Yongin semiconductor complex is a key task in the government's three major mega-projects. LH explained that it has added external reviewers to broaden the candidate pool and enhance the fairness and expertise of the review process.
To minimize the potential for misconduct, LH disclosed the candidate pool two days prior to the selection of committee members.
In response to concerns raised about the need for ongoing management of the candidate pool, LH stated, "The argument for maintaining a constant pool to ensure predictability could actually encourage misconduct such as prior contact and briefings. We have strengthened the fairness of this review by taking exceptional measures to expand the candidate pool."
On September 22, LH will also hold a 'Fair Play Fair Competition Joint Pledge Ceremony' with two consortia participating in the bidding at its Southern Gyeonggi Regional Headquarters.
During the ceremony, LH will commit to conducting the review objectively and transparently, free from external undue influence. Participating companies will pledge not to engage in actions that undermine fair competition, such as prior contact with review committee members or improper requests, and will compete based solely on their technical capabilities.
LH plans to strictly enforce penalties, including point deductions and bidding restrictions, against companies found to have engaged in corruption or misconduct. According to the penalty criteria, if prior contact or briefings with review committee members are confirmed, a deduction of up to four times the impact score per member will be applied. Bidding restrictions will last six months for prior contact and one year for briefings.
If a company requests services, research, or consulting from a review committee member within one year after winning a bid without prior notification, or if misconduct by its employees related to the review is confirmed, a deduction of up to ten times the impact score per member will be applied, along with a two-year bidding restriction from the date of the penalty decision.
Whistleblowers reporting misconduct will be eligible for rewards of up to 30 million won.
As the integrity of the selection process for large national projects has emerged as a critical factor in ensuring project speed and trust, the operational methods of this review are expected to set a benchmark for future large public project evaluations.
An LH official stated, "We have established a review plan and organized a pledge ceremony to create a fair competitive environment and enhance the transparency and fairness of the process. We aim to evaluate solely based on technical capabilities, grounded in fair competition."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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