Co-working space expands five times in size

In June 2020, the total supply of co-working space in the Seoul office market reached 578,700 square meters (6.23 million square feet), a six-fold increase compared with 2016, according to Savills Korea Co-Working Market Post-COVID report.

Space in the domestic co-working market, which in 2014 totaled 50,000 square meters (538,000 square feet) offered by eight operators, began to grow significantly in 2016 when WeWork opened its first branch in South Korea. In 2016, co-working space represented 0.3 percent of total Seoul office stock, until expanding to 1 percent in 2018 and further to 1.6 percent in first half 2020.

Total supply of co-working space in Seoul’s prime-office market also expanded five times in size during the same four-year period. As a percentage of prime office stock, co-working space rose from 0.6 percent in 2016 to 2.4 percent by first half 2020. By district, co-working space accounts for 2.8 percent of prime office in the CBD, 2.6 percent