Over two-thousand cases of unlawful acts at construction sites were reported during an investigation led by the land ministry.

According to the ministry on Thursday, two-thousand-70 cases of illegalities were found at one-thousand-489 sites run by 290 builders in a survey conducted through 12 business associations, including the Construction Association of Korea.

During the past four years, one-thousand-215 cases involved tower crane operators demanding that builders give them a monthly payment on top of their wages, while 567 concerned unions demanding payment for union activities.

Other illegalities included the forced rental of union-owned equipment and union coercion of subcontractors to hire certain workers.

Out of the 290 builders, 118 submitted losses incurred from such unlawful practices, which they claimed came to 168-point-six billion won over the past three years. Builders also reported delays of up to 120 days caused by such activities at 329 sites.

The ministry plans to verify the claims before seeking a criminal investigation as early as next week.

Source: KBS World Radio