Nearly 9 in 10 alternative schools to gain legal standing in current buildings

About nine in 10 alternative education institutions — commonly known as alternative schools — will be allowed to operate legally in the buildings they currently occupy. Because no clearly defined building-use category existed for such institutions under the Building Act, some have faced correction orders and compulsory fines from local governments.

The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced Wednesday they will pre-announce proposed amendments to enforcement decrees that would create a new building-use category for alternative education institutions.

Alternative education institutions offer a range of educational programs outside the standard school curriculum. Credits earned by enrolled students are not officially recognized, but students may be granted a deferral of their compulsory school attendance obligation under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Since the Alternative Education Institutions Act was enacted in 2021, 253 institutions have registered with education offices nationwide as of April this year, with about 11,000 students enrolled.

The core of the proposed amendments is to classify alternative education institutions into two types — "home-based" and "general" — based on their operating space, and to clearly specify the permissible building-use categories under the Building Act for each type.

Alternative education institutions have operated through grassroots private efforts since before the relevant legislation was enacted. As a result, they have conducted educational activities in a wide variety of building types, including single-family and multi-family homes, neighborhood living facilities and religious buildings.

A survey the Ministry of Education conducted in October 2024 found that alternative education institutions collectively use 369 buildings. Neighborhood living facilities accounted for the largest share at 41 percent, followed by education and research facilities at 20 percent and single-family or multi-family homes at 17 percent.

The current enforcement decree under the Building Act specifies permissible building-use categories only for schools and hagwon, with no separate standards for alternative education institutions. Critics have noted that whether a given institution violates the Building Act can vary depending on the local government's judgment, even among institutions of the same type.

One alternative education institution in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, received a correction order from the local government over its building-use classification. The institution filed an administrative lawsuit but ultimately lost, and a compulsory fine was imposed in December last year.

"The Goyang case prompted the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of Education to conclude that the building-use classification for alternative education institutions needed to be clarified, and we began looking for a solution," a Ministry of Education official said.

The government expects the amendments to allow about 91 percent of all alternative education institutions to operate legally in their current buildings.

Existing institutions whose buildings do not fall under the new use categories will be granted a three-year grace period from the effective date of the amendments, during which they will be deemed to be using their current buildings lawfully.

During the grace period, the government plans to support institutions that can convert to a permitted use — such as single-family or multi-family housing, neighborhood living facilities, or education and research facilities. For institutions that find conversion difficult, the government will provide counseling and consulting services to help them relocate to buildings that meet the new standards.