South Korea Construction Market Size, Trends, and Forecasts by Sector - Commercial, Industrial, Infrastructure, Energy and Utilities, Institutional and Residential Market Analysis to 2029 (Q3 2025)

The analyst expects that the South Korean construction industry will shrink by 9.1% in real terms in 2025, owing to political instability coupled with rising household debt, a sluggish housing market, and uncertainty over the implementation of US tariffs. These factors have created an unfavourable business climate, resulting in cessation of projects and delays. Among the major projects, completion of the new Gadeok Island airport has been postponed beyond 2029 due to a mix of environmental, financial, and logistical hurdles. Moreover, currency fluctuations, coupled with the central bank’s limited room for monetary easing due to high household debt, has substantially constrained the country’s ability to stimulate growth. Furthermore, an anticipated drop in trade activities with the US in the coming quarters, amid tariff war, is likely to impact the South Korean construction industry’s output in the short term. In a setback, in May 2025, the Ministry of Economy and Finance revealed a slowdown in exports for the first time, reflecting concerns over an exacerbating global trade environment fuelled by US tariffs on steel, automobiles, and other imports.

Over the remainder of the forecast period, the South Korean construction industry is expected to register an annual average growth rate of 2.8% from 2026 to 2029, supported by investments in transport, housing, and semiconductor projects. To stabilize the country’s economy, in March 2025, the government announced the creation of KRW50 trillion (34.4 billion) fund for the development of 12 industries. Some of the major industries whose development will majorly support the construction industry are semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), rechargeable batteries and biopharmaceuticals industries. To support this, the Korea Development Bank will provide low-interest loans over the next five years to the businesses involved in these industries

The analyst’s Construction in South Korea - Key Trends and Opportunities to 2029 (Q3 2025) report provides detailed market analysis, information, and insights into the South Korean construction industry, including:

The South Korean construction industry's growth prospects by market, project type and construction activity
Critical insight into the impact of industry trends and issues, as well as an analysis of key risks and opportunities in the South Korean construction industry
Analysis of the mega-project pipeline, focusing on development stages and participants, in addition to listings of major projects in the pipeline

Scope

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the construction industry in South Korea. It provides:

Historical (2020-2024) and forecast (2025-2029) valuations of the construction industry in South Korea, featuring details of key growth drivers.
Segmentation by sector (commercial, industrial, infrastructure, energy and utilities, institutional and residential) and by sub-sector
Analysis of the mega-project pipeline, including breakdowns by development stage across all sectors, and projected spending on projects in the existing pipeline.
Listings of major projects, in addition to details of leading contractors and consultants

Reasons to Buy

Identify and evaluate market opportunities using our standardized valuation and forecasting methodologies
Assess market growth potential at a micro-level with over 600 time-series data forecasts
Understand the latest industry and market trends
Formulate and validate business strategies using the analyst's critical and actionable insight
Assess business risks, including cost, regulatory and competitive pressures
Evaluate competitive risk and success factors

1 Executive Summary2 Construction Industry: At-a-Glance

3 Context

3.1 Economic Performance
3.2 Political Environment and Policy
3.3 Demographics
3.4 Risk Profile

4 Construction Outlook

4.1 All Construction

Outlook
Latest news and developments
Construction Projects Momentum Index

4.2 Commercial Construction

Outlook
Project analytics
Latest news and developments

4.3 Industrial Construction

Outlook
Project analytics
Latest news and developments

4.4 Infrastructure Construction

Outlook
Project analytics
Latest news and developments

4.5 Energy and Utilities Construction

Outlook
Project analytics
Latest news and developments

4.6 Institutional Construction

Outlook
Project analytics
Latest news and developments

4.7 Residential Construction

Outlook
Project analytics
Latest news and developments

5 Key Industry Participants

5.1 Contractors
5.2 Consultants

6 Construction Market Data

7 Appendix

7.1 What is this Report About?
7.2 Definitions
7.3 CRI Methodology

About the Analyst
Contact the Publisher

List of Tables

Table 1: Construction Industry Key Data
Table 2: South Korea, Key Economic Indicators
Table 3: South Korea, Commercial Construction Output by Project Type (Real % Change), 2020-29
Table 4: South Korea, Top Commercial Construction Projects by Value
Table 5: South Korea, Industrial Construction Output by Project Type (Real % Change), 2020-29
Table 6: South Korea, Top Industrial Construction Projects by Value
Table 7: South Korea, Infrastructure Construction Output by Project Type (Real % Change), 2020-29
Table 8: South Korea, Top Infrastructure Construction Projects by Value
Table 9: South Korea, Energy and Utilities Construction Output by Project Type (Real % Change), 2020-29
Table 10: South Korea, Top Energy and Utilities Construction Projects by Value
Table 11: South Korea, Institutional Construction Output by Project Type (Real % Change), 2020-29
Table 12: South Korea, Top Institutional Construction Projects by Value
Table 13: South Korea, Residential Construction Output by Project Type (Real % Change), 2020-29
Table 14: South Korea, Top Residential Construction Projects by Value
Table 15: South Korea, Key Contractors
Table 16: South Korea, Key Consultants
Table 17: South Korea, Construction Output Value (Real, $ Million)
Table 18: South Korea, Construction Output Value (Nominal, KRW Billion)
Table 19: the analyst Construction Market Definitions
Table 20: Risk Dimensions
Table 21: Ratings, Scores and Definitions

List of Figures

Figure 1: North-East Asia, Construction Output (Real % Change), 2023-29
Figure 2: South Korea, Construction Output by Sector (Real % Change), 2023-25 and 2026-29
Figure 3: South Korea, Risk Summary
Figure 4: South Korea, Risk Regional Comparison
Figure 5: South Korea, Construction Output Value (Real, $ Million, 2022 Prices and Exchange Rate), 2020-29
Figure 6: South Korea, Construction Output Value, by Sector (Real, $ Million), 2020-29
Figure 7: South Korea, Construction Value-Add (KRW Trillion, 2020 Chained Prices, Unadjusted)
Figure 8: South Korea, Construction Production Index (2020=100)
Figure 9: South Korea, Total Value of Construction Completed, Constant Prices, KRW Billion, % Change, YoY
Figure 10: South Korea, Total Value of Construction Orders Received (Current Prices, KRW Billion)
Figure 11: South Korea, Total Number of Building Construction Permits
Figure 12: South Korea, Construction Business Survey Index
Figure 13: South Korea, Construction Projects Momentum Index
Figure 14: North-East Asia, Construction Projects Momentum Index
Figure 15: South Korea, Commercial Construction Output by Project Type (Real, $ Million), 2020-29
Figure 16: South Korea, Commercial Construction Projects Pipeline, Value by Stage ($ Million)
Figure 17: South Korea, Gross Floor Area of Commercial Construction Permits, In Thousand m2
Figure 18: South Korea, Wholesale and retail trade Value-Add (KRW Billion, 2020 chained prices, unadjusted)
Figure 19: South Korea, Accommodation and Food Services Value-Add (KRW Billion, 2020 chained prices, unadjusted)
Figure 20: South Korea, Retail Sales Value and Volume Index, (2020=100)
Figure 21: South Korea, Industrial Construction Output by Project Type (Real, $ Million), 2020-29
Figure 22: South Korea, Industrial Construction Projects Pipeline, Value by Stage ($ Million)
Figure 23: South Korea, Gross Floor Area of Industrial Construction Permits, In Thousand m2
Figure 24: South Korea, Manufacturing Value-Add (KRW Billion, 2020 Chained Prices, Unadjusted)
Figure 25: South Korea, Industrial Production Index (2020=100)
Figure 26: South Korea, Total Export Value ($ Billion)
Figure 27: South Korea, Total Value of Construction Contracts Received for Industrial Plants, (KRW Billion), In Current Prices
Figure 28: South Korea, Infrastructure Construction Output by Project Type (Real, $ Million), 2020-29
Figure 29: South Korea, Infrastructure Construction Projects Pipeline, Value by Stage ($ Million)
Figure 30: South Korea, Energy and Utilities Construction Output by Project Type (Real, $ Million), 2020-29
Figure 31: South Korea, Energy and Utilities Construction Projects Pipeline, Value by Stage ($ Million)
Figure 32: South Korea, Institutional Construction Output by Project Type (Real, $ Million), 2020-29
Figure 33: South Korea, Institutional Construction Projects Pipeline, Value by Stage ($ Million)
Figure 34: South Korea, Gross Floor Area of Permits Issued for Educational and Social Use, In Thousand m2
Figure 35: South Korea, Education Sector Value-Add (KRW Billion, 2020 Chained Prices, Unadjusted)
Figure 36: South Korea, Human Health and Social Work Activities Value-Add (KRW Billion, 2020 Chained Prices, Unadjusted)
Figure 37: South Korea, Residential Construction Output by Project Type (Real, $ Million), 2020-29
Figure 38: South Korea, Residential Construction Projects Pipeline, Value by Stage ($ Million)
Figure 39: South Korea, Residential Construction Permits (Total Number)
Figure 40: South Korea, Real Estate Value-Add (KRW Trillion, 2020 Chained Prices)
Figure 41: South Korea, Headquarters of Key Contractors (% of Total Project Pipeline)
Figure 42: South Korea, Headquarters of Key Consultants (% of Total Project Pipeline)

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SINGLE USER LICENSE PDF	The product is a PDF.	This is a single user license, allowing one user access to the product.	€1322EUR$1,495USD£1,155GBP
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ENTERPRISE LICENSE PDF	The product is a PDF.	This is an enterprise license, allowing all employees within your organization access to the product.	€2644EUR$2,990USD£2,309GBP

Scope

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the construction industry in South Korea. It provides:

Reasons to Buy

Table of Contents

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