The Seoul Metropolitan Council has enacted the nation’s first ordinance to establish the legal foundation for the urban campus system. The ‘Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Urban Campus Establishment and Operation Ordinance,’ proposed by Seoul Metropolitan Council Member Kim Kyoo-nam (People Power Party, Songpa 1), passed the 331st plenary session held on June 27.
This ordinance is the first local government regulation to institutionally define the concept of an urban campus, allowing the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education to operate a new type of school that responds flexibly to educational demands. An urban campus is a branch-type school that can be established without meeting the student population requirements of conventional schools, operating the same curriculum as the main school.
This method is considered effective for alleviating overcrowded classes and improving the commuting conditions for students in areas without schools, while maintaining the advantages of small schools and efficiently utilizing the office of education’s budget and space.
In particular, Jamsil 4-dong in Songpa-gu currently lacks a middle school, forcing students to commute long distances to neighboring areas. With a planned move-in of 4,500 households in a new apartment complex, there is a soaring demand for middle school establishment, but it has been challenging to meet the existing standard for regular school establishment.
Amid this, the enacted ordinance specifies the educational superintendent’s responsibility for establishing and operating urban campuses, mandates the formulation of a basic plan, and sets up a consultative body in which local residents, the office of education, and experts participate to establish an institutional foundation. The consultative body is formed by the education superintendent or the head of education, reflecting the residents’ opinions and serves an advisory function.
Council Member Kim Kyoo-nam stated, “We could not overlook the educational blind spot that forced students to commute long distances due to the absence of a middle school,” and added, “Together with Rep. Park Jeong-hoon, who has worked for regional development, we will surely bring the establishment of a middle school to reality.” He emphasized that the passage of this ordinance provides an institutional basis to accelerate realization.
Meanwhile, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education is currently conducting a feasibility study for the establishment of an urban campus aimed at setting up a new middle school in Jamsil 4-dong. Various candidate sites, including Yusuji land and Onjomaru Park land, are under consideration, and detailed establishment plans are expected to emerge following the ordinance’s enactment.