Korean Architects are always swamped with heavy workload, however their economic situation has never been good and even got worse. Why? The reason is just this they aren’t paid enough compared to the amount of time put in. According to 「Notification No. 2011-750 of the Ministry of Transportation: Architectural Work Scope and Standard of Cost in Placing a Public Order」, architects should be paid the right amount of design fee, yet most public institutions don’t pay it by this criteria.
Most public institutions fix appropriate fee much lower than the standard of cost at the stage of establishment of budget. By the standard, the design fee is classified under 9 heads - usage: complicated/average/simple, quantity of plans: good/fair/poor. However, the ordering institutions sometimes unilaterally reducethe estimated cost and design fee down by 50~60% of the normal price. In addition, there are also many accrued fees payable specified in the standard such as ‘design change fee’, ‘follow-up management fee’ and ‘authentication services fee.’
Also, we have a number of examples of that measurement fee, geologicalfeatures research expenditure, certification commission charge - which the owner should cover are included in design fee. Moreover, an increase of workload including any sort of consultation is not reflected in the standard of cost at all.
These are suggestions about a fair and appropriate design fee;
Small Scale Construction Design Fee - Enhancing the Wage Rate
The Wage rate is too low to make a profit in case of small scale construction projects For the reward of their effort, the wage rate should be enhanced especially in this area.
The Work without Reward, Competition - Providing Compensation Standard
The competition system impoverishes architects. If public ordering institutions compensate competitors 50% or more, in 10~20% range for the design fee, it will give architects some positive influence
Applying Premium Rate for the Certification Commission or Consultation, and Paying for Additional Works
Setting up an additional standard for any extra work is desperately needed. They should apply a premium rate for a certification commission, or consultation, so that architects can charge fees for unexpected additional work.
The appropriate and specified reward standard for the effort should be established and executed by the expected budget plan. That is the shortcut for the advanced architectural field, and also the primary goal of the Ministry of Transportation: to elevate the Korean architectural design field to within the top five in the world.