Overview
- Ministry of Education data released Dec. 28 records 4,008 schools closed to date under 17 regional education offices.
- Elementary schools account for 3,674 closures, with 264 middle schools and 70 high schools also shut.
- Over the past five years, 158 schools closed, and officials project 107 additional closures in the next five years.
- Of the closed sites, 376 remain unused, including 266 idle for more than a decade and 82 abandoned for over 30 years.
- Projected near-term closures are concentrated in North Jeolla (16), South Jeolla (15), Gyeonggi (12) and South Chungcheong (11), reflecting sharper declines outside the capital region.