Builders' sales increase for 3rd year to surpass record high 500 tln won in 2023

SEOUL, Dec. 17 (Yonhap) -- Sales by South Korean construction companies rose for the third consecutive year in 2023, driven by an industry recovery following the pandemic, government data showed Tuesday.

The combined revenue of local builders reached a record high of 506.7 trillion won (US$336 billion) last year, up 9.9 percent from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea.

It marks a strong rebound for the sector, which had experienced a decline in 2020 amid the pandemic, the first since 1999 following the Asian financial crisis the previous year.

The construction industry has since recovered, posting on-year growth of 3.4 percent in 2021 and 12.4 percent in 2022.

The data also showed local builders' construction costs totaled 490.5 trillion won in 2023, up 11.5 percent from a year earlier. It marks the second consecutive year of a double-digit increase.

Combined sales of the nation's top 100 construction firms came to 203.4 trillion won in 2023, accounting for 40.1 percent of the total and marking a 23.7 percent rise from a year earlier.

The total number of construction firms in Asia's fourth-largest economy stood at 87,891 as of end-2023, up 0.7 percent from a year before.

The number of general construction companies came to 15,904 in 2023, up 4.6 percent from a year earlier, while that of specialized builders inched down 0.1 percent on-year.

Their combined workforce came to 1.81 million in 2023, 4 percent higher than a year earlier.

khj@yna.co.kr
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