The Nation's First 'Subway-Type Shared Office' to Open

Seoul Metro, Shared Office Company 'Sparkplus' to Sign Business Contract in Early May
Scheduled to Open in July at 4 Stations Including Gongdeok... Mobility and Accessibility Ahead of Above-Ground Shared Offices

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Shared offices will be established in the vacant commercial spaces of Seoul subway stations.

On the 3rd, Seoul Metro announced that it selected the shared office company SparkPlus through a public offering for the shared office project and will sign a contract in May. After preparation work including construction, it is scheduled to open in July.

SparkPlus, the company awarded the project this time, is a promising shared office company that has secured 16 branches over five years since its establishment in 2016, showing the fastest growth among domestic companies in the shared office industry.

The subway stations where the shared offices will be located are four in total: Yeongdeungpo-gu Office Station (transfer station for Lines 2 and 5), Gongdeok Station (transfer station for Lines 5, 6, Gyeongui-Jungang Line, and Airport Railroad), Wangsimni Station (transfer station for Lines 2, 5, Gyeongui-Jungang Line, and Suin-Bundang Line), and Madeul Station (Line 7). All are located at major urban hubs in the city, with Gongdeok and Wangsimni Stations being key urban transportation points where four lines intersect.

Shared offices are spaces managed by companies that users can reserve and use for their desired period. They offer the advantage of allowing startups or one-person businesses with limited capital to use office space without the initial cost burden of opening an office (such as deposits, brokerage fees, and interior costs).

Convenience of access is also an essential factor. The subway-type shared offices to be opened this time boast unparalleled accessibility and convenience, making the term "station area" almost insufficient to describe them. Due to the nature of subway spaces where numerous passengers get on and off, users can also benefit from incidental advertising effects.

President Kim Sang-beom said, “The subway is fundamentally a public transportation means as well as a lifestyle convenience space for shopping, eating, and enjoying, but with the introduction of shared offices, we have added the meaning of ‘working space.’ We hope that subway-type shared offices will be a good starting point for one-person businesses or startups beginning new ventures to grow into large companies.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.