The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (SMOE) announced that it will sign a free modular classroom lease agreement valued at approximately 5 billion KRW with PLANM Co., Ltd. (CEO Lee Min-gyu) on April 5. The agreement aims to secure student capacity and improve educational conditions at Seoul Daebang Elementary School.
Under this agreement, PLANM, the original owner of the modular facilities installed at Seoul Daebang Elementary, will provide a total of 20 modular classrooms free of charge for four years. The lease will remain in effect until the completion of the school’s annex building expansion and renovation project, scheduled for February 2027.
The school faced a surge in student enrollment following the Singil New Town development project (4,560 households). To address the resulting overcrowding, the school had previously leased and utilized modular classrooms as temporary school buildings for 26 months, from December 2020 to February 2023.
While there were initial concerns regarding fire safety and structural integrity due to the classification of modular classrooms as temporary structures, these facilities now provide a safe educational environment for students. They have secured high-performance standards, including structural seismic resistance, thermal insulation, and soundproofing, as well as advanced fire resistance through the installation of fire sprinklers.
Currently, Seoul Daebang Elementary School is the only school in Seoul to install and operate modular classrooms. These units offer significant advantages, including not only ease of relocation and reinstallation but also full recyclability.
During the free lease period, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (SMOE) and PLANM plan to conduct joint research to share data on maintenance, user satisfaction surveys, and performance analysis of the modular units in use. Furthermore, both parties will collaborate on R&D to explore other educational facilities where modular construction methods can be effectively applied.
Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, stated, “I look forward to this public-private partnership—which flexibly responds to the rapidly changing school-age population to improve educational conditions—becoming an excellent model for proposing eco-friendly and future-oriented school spaces.”
