Seoul postal service proposes lunchtime closure at 18 small post offices

Seoul Regional Postal Service has proposed closing 18 small post offices across the capital for a one-hour lunch break, starting on 2 March 2027, in a pilot announced through an administrative pre-notice published in the official gazette on 2 November 2026. The measure is set out in 서울지방우정청공고 제2026-0199호, issued under Article 46 of the Administrative Procedures Act, the provision that obliges agencies to give prior public notice of measures and hear citizens’ views before they take effect. No decision is final: the service is accepting written comments until 30 November 2026.

The stated aim is to prevent accidents that the agency says can arise from staggered lunchtime shift work at very small offices and to raise the quality of postal service offered to the public. The pilot is confined to offices staffed by five people or fewer, including one office where staff working on different floors are counted separately. All 18 target offices are grade-6 (6급) branches, and every one of them is in Seoul.

The notice is a companion to a separate track already running in the capital. On 27 August 2026, 서울지방우정청고시 제2026-15호 brought lunchtime closure to 23 entrusted postal counters (우편취급국) from 1 September 2026, and withdrew the arrangement at one counter, 서울경안, where shift work was restored. The new notice applies to post offices proper (우체국) rather than entrusted counters.

What would change at the counter

Under the proposal, the 18 branches would halt counter service completely for 60 minutes each working day during the four-month trial. The closure window is not uniform: the service has scheduled three different slots so that neighbouring offices do not all fall dark at the same hour.

• Eleven offices would close from 12:00 to 13:00.
• Five offices would close from 12:30 to 13:30.
• Two offices would close from 11:30 to 12:30.
• The trial period runs from 2 March 2027 (Tuesday) to 30 June 2027 (Wednesday).

The 18 branches, by supervising office

The list published with the notice groups the branches under eight supervising post offices. Seoul Gangseo carries the largest share, with seven branches; Seoul Jungnang has three; Seodaemun and Seoul Yangcheon have two each; Gwanghwamun, Seoul Gwanak, Seoul Gangdong and Seoul Dobong have one each.

• 광화문 — 서울혜화동 (12:00–13:00)
• 서대문 — 서울모래내, 서울신촌 (both 12:00–13:00)
• 서울관악 — 서울난곡 (12:00–13:00)
• 서울강동 — 서울천호동 (12:00–13:00)
• 서울양천 — 서울신정3동, 서울신월2동 (both 12:00–13:00)
• 서울강서 — 서울방화동 (12:30–13:30), 서울가양동 (11:30–12:30), 서울마곡나루, 서울화곡, 서울등촌동 (all 12:00–13:00), 서울화곡4동 (12:30–13:30), 서울염창동 (11:30–12:30)
• 서울중랑 — 서울망우1동, 서울묵동, 서울신내동 (all 12:30–13:30)
• 서울도봉 — 서울수유동 (12:00–13:00)

How residents can respond

The pre-notice sets a single deadline of 30 November 2026 (Monday) for written submissions. Objections, support and the reasons behind either must be filed with the service’s postal planning division.

• Submissions must state a position on the proposal and its grounds, plus the name, address and telephone number of the respondent — or the organisation name and its representative.
• Postal address: 서울지방우정청 우정계획과, 6 Jongno, Jongno-gu, Seoul (Seorindong).
• Telephone 02-6967-9222; fax 0505-005-1101; email jjanga519@korea.kr.
• Further details are available from the same division on the same number.

The measure matters most to residents of outer districts such as Gangseo and Jungnang, where small branches serve neighbourhoods that have few alternative counters, and to anyone who plans a midday errand: for four months from next March, a lunchtime visit to one of these 18 offices may find the shutters down.

Source: 관보 (Republic of Korea Official Gazette), No. 21352, 2 November 2026, section I (공고) (official reference: 서울지방우정청공고 제2026-0199호).