South Korea expands school-site duty to large office-tels, adds cash payment rules

The Ministry of Education has announced a legislative notice (입법예고) for a partial amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Special Act on Securing School Sites, published in the Republic of Korea Official Gazette (관보) No. 21316 of 7 September 2026 under Ministry of Education Notice No. 2026-346. The draft widens the range of office-tels that must secure school sites and introduces, for the first time, detailed rules for paying school-site and school-facility costs in cash.

The amendment responds to the revised Office-tel Building Standards (MOLIT Notice No. 2024-1066, in force since 30 December 2024), which abolished the floor-heating restriction tied to office-tel floor area. Because large office-tels can now be genuinely inhabited, they are expected to generate school-age residents, so the scope of office-tels covered by the Special Act must be brought into line with the new building standards.

Wider office-tel coverage

The core change is to Article 1-2 of the Enforcement Decree, which defines which office-tels fall under the school-site obligation. The draft aligns that definition with the amended building standards so that large-format office-tels, now eligible for real residence, are captured by the duty to secure school land.

• The revision follows the abolition of the area-based floor-heating ban in the Office-tel Building Standards.
• Large office-tels that can now be inhabited are treated as student-generating developments.
• The change directly affects developers who must secure school sites or pay the corresponding costs.

New cash-payment framework

The second pillar is a new Article 5-4, which implements the amended Special Act on Securing School Sites (Law No. 21722, in force from 3 December 2026). That law delegates to the Enforcement Decree the details of how developers may pay school-site acquisition and school-facility installation costs to the education office in cash.

• The draft sets the calculation standard for the cash amount.
• It specifies the payment and assessment method, the permitted use of the funds, and the payment timing.
• The rules give the education office a defined revenue stream while giving developers a clear alternative to providing land or facilities in kind.

How to comment

Interested agencies, organisations and individuals may submit opinions until 19 October 2026. Comments can be filed online through the National Participation Legislation Center (opinion.lawmaking.go.kr) or sent to the Ministry of Education by post, e-mail or fax.

• Post: Ministry of Education, Local Education Finance Division, Government Complex Sejong 14-1, 408 Galmae-ro, Sejong-si (postal code 30119).
• E-mail: jhrin@korea.kr
• Fax: 044-203-6490
• Enquiries: Local Education Finance Division, tel. (044) 203-6643

The amendment matters because it recalibrates the balance between housing supply and school capacity at a time when deregulation is making large office-tels viable as homes. For developers it clarifies exactly what they owe and how to pay it in cash, while for education offices it secures a predictable source of funding for school land and facilities.

Source: Republic of Korea Official Gazette (관보), No. 21316, 7 September 2026, Section I (official reference: Ministry of Education Notice No. 2026-346).