The Tangled Issue of Dunchon Jugong Middle School Establishment... "Education Support Office, Please Make a Decision Quickly"

Gangdong-gu Urges Measures to Resolve Local Resident Conflicts and Prevent Learning Rights Violations

Lee Soo-hee, Mayor of Gangdong-gu (right in the photo), and officials are inspecting the Dunchon Jugong Housing Reconstruction Maintenance Project site. (Photo by Gangdong-gu Office)

Seoul Gangdong-gu (District Mayor Lee Soo-hee) announced on the 23rd that on the 22nd, it visited the site of the new school land in the Dunchon Jugong Apartment Housing Reconstruction Maintenance Project and the existing Wirye Elementary School extension and reconstruction site to check the progress of the project and urged the education office to promptly make decisions, including the finalization of detailed utilization plans for the newly established school land, which has recently become controversial.

Although there is only about a year left until the completion of the Dunchon Jugong Apartment Housing Reconstruction Maintenance Project (Dunchon Reconstruction Project), the largest reconstruction complex in Korea, the detailed utilization plan for the new school land has not yet been decided, raising concerns about confusion among local residents and infringement on students' right to learn.

The maintenance plan for the Dunchon Reconstruction Project was initially decided in November 2006 to include the establishment of an elementary school and a middle school. Later, in April 2020, the maintenance plan was revised to reflect the installation of an attached kindergarten within the new school land, following the review conditions from the educational environment impact assessment conducted by the Gangdong-Songpa Education Support Office in 2019.

However, in July and December 2020, the Ministry of Education's Central Investment Review concluded that there was no demand for school establishment and that nearby schools could be dispersed, deeming the establishment of new elementary and middle schools inappropriate. Yet, even after three years, the Education Support Office has not decided on a detailed utilization plan for the school land reflecting the investment review results.

Currently, the Education Support Office is considering relocating the nearby Hansan Middle School and constructing a kindergarten, as establishing a middle school within the complex has become difficult following the Ministry of Education's Central Investment Review results.

However, residents of the Dunchon Jugong Apartment Housing Reconstruction Association (Dunchon Association), who are scheduled to move in January 2025, expect a middle school to be established on the school land within the complex. Additionally, residents and parents in nearby Dunchon 2-dong and Seongnae 3-dong, where Hansan Middle School is located, are strongly opposing the Education Support Office's consideration of relocating Hansan Middle School, fearing increased commuting distances and a decrease in population inflow due to the school's relocation.

According to Gangdong-gu, the conflict among local residents over the plan to relocate nearby schools is deepening as the move-in date approaches in about a year. While the Education Support Office intends to devise countermeasures through a conflict mediation council, residents claim that this approach is an unreasonable demand for the stakeholders to come up with alternatives.

According to Gangdong District Office, the number of middle school students in the Dunchon-dong area is expected to increase sharply by more than 1,000 from the current number to 1,824 after 2025. If the increased number of middle school students are assigned to nearby Hansan Middle School, Dunchon Middle School, and Dongbuk Middle School, serious infringement on students' right to learn due to overcrowded classes is expected for the time being.

The Education Support Office conducted an online opinion survey for about four weeks in August regarding student placement in the Dunchon-dong area, but decisions on the project direction and administrative procedures have been delayed since then, increasing confusion among local residents and parents.

In this regard, on the 15th, Gangdong District Mayor Lee Soo-hee conveyed the urgency of this issue to Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon and strongly demanded the Education Support Office's prompt decision and the establishment of practical student placement measures.

The district mayor stated, “Gangdong-gu plans to review changes to the maintenance plan based on the Education Support Office's finalization of detailed plans,” adding, “We will actively work to resolve school-related issues to alleviate residents' inconveniences and prevent confusion among parents in line with the move-in schedule.”

Meanwhile, Seoul City recently established the ‘School Site (Facility) Decision Improvement Plan’ to improve the school facility decision process due to the increasing likelihood of cancellations after decisions, caused by the declining school-age population. Following this policy, the city is also considering changing the school land of the Dunchon Reconstruction Project, where the central investment review result for the new school site was deemed ‘inappropriate’ and school establishment is unnecessary, into a public open space.

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