The Seoul Metropolitan Government has eased regulations on sites left by closed or relocated schools as the school-age population shrinks. Pictured Monday is the former Hwayangcho Elementary School in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, which has been used as a parking lot since its closure in 2023. [Yonhap]
The Seoul Metropolitan Government has eased regulations on sites left by closed or relocated schools as the school-age population shrinks. Pictured Monday is the former Hwayangcho Elementary School in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, which has been used as a parking lot since its closure in 2023. [Yonhap]

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has moved to ease regulations on sites left behind by closed or relocated schools, aiming to put the land to better use.

Under the new rules, school sites redeveloped as public or cultural and sports facilities — such as libraries or gymnasiums — will be subject to the standard building-coverage and floor-area ratios for their zoning category, rather than the separate, lower limits that previously applied.

The change is also expected to expand the supply of public housing through mixed-use development, offering at least partial relief to Seoul's serious housing shortage.

The city said the amended Seoul Urban Planning Ordinance takes effect Monday.

The move reflects a steady decline in the school-age population. Schools across Seoul have been closing one after another for more than a decade — Hongil Elementary in 2015, Eunhye Elementary in 2018, Yeomgang Elementary and Gongjin Middle School in 2020, Hwayangcho Elementary in 2023, and Dobong High School, Deoksu High School (closed and relocated) and Seongsu Technical High School in 2024 — leaving their sites without clear plans for reuse. The former Hwayangcho Elementary is currently used as a parking lot.

Until now, former school sites have been subject to lower density limits than ordinary plots, a policy designed to preserve public character and prevent uncontrolled high-density development.

Under those rules, building coverage was capped at 30 percent, and floor-area ratio ceilings stood at 500 percent for commercial zones, 320 percent for semi-residential zones, 100 percent for exclusive residential zones, 120 percent for first-category general residential zones, 160 percent for second-category zones and 200 percent for third-category zones. The core of the amended ordinance is an expansion of the exceptions to these separate, stricter limits.

Going forward, privately owned sites — including those held by school foundations — will be eligible for the standard building-coverage and floor-area ratios of their zoning category when redeveloped as public or cultural and sports facilities, not just sites owned by public institutions.

For example, a privately owned closed school site developed into a neighborhood library, cultural facility or community sports center could be built to standard urban planning density limits rather than the lower school-site caps.

Under the Seoul Urban Planning Ordinance, the standard floor-area ratio ceilings are 150 percent for first-category general residential zones, 200 percent for second-category zones, 250 percent for third-category zones and 400 percent for semi-residential zones. Compared with the former school-site-specific ceilings of 120, 160, 200 and 320 percent, the change allows up to 25 percent more gross floor area in each category.

For instance, a second-category general residential school site covering 10,000 square meters would have a maximum gross floor area of 16,000 square meters under the old 160 percent cap, but that rises to 20,000 square meters — an increase of 4,000 square meters — under the standard 200 percent ceiling.

The ordinance defines former school sites to include not only plots where an entire school has relocated or closed, but also land partially released from urban planning facility designation due to a reduction in school functions. Sites where a district-unit plan establishes public uses required by the local community are also covered by the relaxed rules. School sites where relocation occurred more than 10 years ago are likewise eligible for the standard building-coverage and floor-area ratios.

Sites not developed as public facilities, or those that do not meet the ordinance's exemption criteria, will continue to face the existing 30 percent building-coverage cap and the lower school-site floor-area ratio ceilings. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, the number of small schools in Seoul has grown roughly fivefold — from 36 in 2015 to 183 last year — as the school-age population falls, and the student count is projected to drop to 530,000 by 2031, a 27.8 percent decline from last year, meaning more closures are expected.

In response, the Seoul education office drew up a plan in March to convert closed schools and former school sites into future education platforms and multi-purpose community spaces across different districts.

The ordinance amendment is not a housing-supply policy in itself. However, where a district-unit plan incorporating public facilities is established on a site where residential construction is permitted and standard floor-area ratios apply, the change is also expected to increase the total developable area.

In some mixed-use projects combining public and residential facilities, project viability could improve and housing supply capacity could grow. In such cases, the expanded development potential is expected to allow for greater supply of public rental housing for young people, newlyweds and others.

"This ordinance amendment will allow us to expand cultural, sports and everyday-life facilities suited to local conditions on closed and relocated school sites," a Seoul city official said, adding that "we can also look forward to increasing housing supply through mixed-use development such as urban-style campuses."


ken@heraldcorp.com