DL E&C (375500.KS), Sebak Investment Development and the Korea Housing & Urban Guaranty Corporation (HUG) won the grand prize, awarded by the minister of land, infrastructure and transport, at the 2026 Korea Construction and Real Estate Industry Awards. The Seoul Housing & Urban Development Corporation (SH) received a special merit award presented by the chair of the Presidential Commission on Architecture Policy. Hosted by Seoul Economic Daily and sponsored by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Presidential Commission on Architecture Policy, the Construction Association of Korea, the Korea Housing Association, the Korea Developer Association and the Korea REITs Association, the awards were established in 2023 and held for the fourth time this year.
At the ceremony held on Oct. 21 at the Westin Josun Seoul hotel in central Seoul's Jung-gu district, Land Minister Hong Ji-sun said in a video message that companies had "developed technology, raised quality and built competitiveness even under difficult conditions such as the recent rise in construction costs." She added that the government would "actively improve unreasonable regulations so that efforts in the field translate into results and private construction projects can proceed smoothly."
Kim Joo-hyung, a professor in the department of architectural engineering at Hanyang University who chaired the judging panel, said the winning companies and institutions had advanced their technologies and business models and contributed to housing stability despite difficult business conditions caused by the war in Iran. He pointed to industry efforts to curb rising construction costs and prevent serious accidents through innovations in production methods using artificial intelligence and robots, and stressed that the quantitative expansion of housing supply and technological progress must lead to safe and comfortable living environments.
DL E&C, winner of the top prize in the construction category, operates a four-stage quality management system that runs from quality training ahead of groundbreaking through 30 mandatory full inspections and 24 core quality checks to analysis of defect data. According to tallies by the ministry's defect review and dispute mediation committee, the company recorded zero defect rulings from 2023 through the end of February this year. In 2022 it became the first South Korean builder to adopt the Palantir data platform, which it uses to apply data from about 200 sites to cost, quality and design.
Sebak Investment Development, winner of the top prize in the development category, was recognized for improving the local residential environment with Hyangnam Station Grove Switzen, now under construction in the Manse-gu area of Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. The project comprises seven buildings ranging from two basement levels to a maximum of 29 floors above ground, with the building-to-land ratio lowered to 12.43% to widen distances between buildings and expand landscaped space, and includes a walking trail of about 5.56 kilometers linking scenic, cultural and children's parks. It is the first new apartment complex supplied in the Hyangnam area in about five years.
HUG, winner of the top prize in the housing category, was recognized for contributing to housing stability through housing project guarantees and the introduction of its Deundeun jeonse program and a jeonse and monthly-rent trust protection scheme. It is supporting the government's push to expand housing supply by raising public guarantees for housing projects to an annual 100 trillion won and temporarily cutting fees for housing presale guarantees by 30% through May next year. It has also signed a framework agreement with the Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH) on rapidly expanding publicly led housing supply.
SH, which received the special merit award, has supplied 38,296 units of Shift, the long-term jeonse housing program it introduced in South Korea for the first time in 2007, contributing to housing stability for low- and middle-income households that do not own a home. The average deposit for Shift units this year is 293 million won, or 41% of the average jeonse price for a Seoul apartment, at 710 million won. Mirinae Jip, a program for newlyweds launched in 2024, had supplied 7,108 units as of August.
Grand excellence awards, presented by the president of Seoul Economic Daily, were given across six categories. SK Ecoplant won the smart construction category for applying digital technologies including building information modeling, digital twins, AI and off-site construction across the entire design and construction process for data centers. Lotte Engineering & Construction won the housing innovation category for new floor plans reflecting demand from people in their 20s and 30s, its Green by Groove landscaping brand and Live Ground, a specialized underground parking design. Samsung C&T (028260.KS) won the residential landscape category for upgrading Nature Gallery, the landscaping philosophy behind its Raemian brand, to capture seasonal changes at each complex.
Hyundai Engineering & Construction (000720.KS) won the urban redevelopment category after booking 10.118 trillion won in orders from urban redevelopment projects through the third quarter of this year, topping 10 trillion won for a second straight year. Xi S&D won the commercial development category for Chungjeongno Station Xirne, which combines residential, office and retail space. POSCO E&C won the customer satisfaction category for employee giving, community-tailored social contribution programs and cooperation agreements with local construction firms.
Yang In-seok, head of HUG's financial business division, said in acceptance remarks that it was meaningful for the corporation's efforts toward housing stability to be recognized. "We will continue to lead in housing supply and tenant protection through public guarantees such as project financing guarantees and our jeonse and monthly-rent trust protection scheme," Yang said.