Top 10 construction companies South Korea 2020, by building capacity

In 2020, Samsung C&T (Construction and Trading) was ranked as the leading South Korean construction company by estimated construction capability. The government’s annual construction capability evaluation measures a company’s performance based on construction contracts, business management, technical capabilities, and brand credibility. Based on this year’s evaluation, Samsung’s building capacity was measured as approximately 20.8 trillion South Korean won, easily half again above that of second-ranking Hyundai E&C or third-ranking Daelim Industrial. Samsung, Hyundai, Daelim, and GS E&C and Daewoo E&C are considered Korea’s leading five construction companies.

Major Korean construction companies

Samsung C&T’s estimated capacity was far greater than that of any other Korean construction company. Samsung C&T is not just a construction company, in contrast to the other Big 5 companies, but is also involved in trade, food distribution, resorts and more. Construction was its second-most profitable business sector, raising nearly 11.7 trillion South Korean won in sales in 2019, with a total of around 30.76 trillion won in profits from all sectors. Samsung C&T is also the company that built the Burj Khalifa skyscraper in Dubai, currently the tallest building in the world. Hyundai E&C’s sales revenue was much lower, around 17.3 trillion won, but unlike Samsung, Hyundai’s E&C sales revenue came from only engineering and construction work. GS E&C’s sales in this year amounted to around 10.4 trillion won, mostly from construction & housing.

Korean construction industry

There were approximately 237 thousand construction permits in South Korea in 2019. Nearly 90 of these permits were for steel buildings, and residential and commercial buildings by the intended use of new construction. The total sales value and costs in the construction sector in 2018 amounted to over 394 trillion won and 376 trillion won, respectively. Korea’s leading construction company, according to the government construction capability evaluation, was Samsung C&T (Construction and Trading).