LH hired an under-equipped contractor for Busan soil cleanup, lawmaker says

South Korea’s Korea Land and Housing Corp.

(LH) hired a company in 2024 to remove about 597,000 tonnes of waste soil from the Myeongji development in Busan.

The 55.8 billion won contract required the soil to be removed by the end of that year.

The selected company had only 36% of the capacity needed to meet the required daily transport rate, according to documents provided to lawmaker Ahn Tae-joon.

Of 61 vehicles the company listed as its own, 31 belonged to other firms or entities, but LH accepted a promise that more equipment would be secured after work began.

The contractor then passed transport work to other companies, and truck owners were left unpaid.

LH paid 53.9 billion won despite having material that raised concerns about subcontracting, the documents showed.

Ahn called for LH to investigate the case again, while a court separately rejected LH’s challenge to a waste-disposal levy related to contaminated soil that was reburied at the site.