Heerim Architects & Planners

Heerim Architects & Planners is an architectural design and construction management (CM) firm founded in 1970 and headquartered in Gangdong-gu, Seoul, providing architectural design, urban design, CM, and supervision services domestically and abroad.

Its main clients include private redevelopment associations, public procurement agencies, and overseas government and private developers.

Domestically, the firm has built a strong position in high-end reconstruction design, securing design rights for major Gangnam-area projects such as Apgujeong District 3, Banpo Mido Complex 1, and Daechi Eunma Apartment, as well as Mokdong Complexes 12, 14, and 1.

Its overseas business gained attention through the design of Qatar's Al Thumama Stadium for the World Cup and has since expanded across the Middle East, including Iran, the UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, as well as into Vietnam and other parts of Asia, with a regional headquarters established in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

According to a survey by the Korea Institute of Registered Architects, Heerim ranked third by revenue in Korea's architectural design industry in 2022, behind Hanmi Global and Samoo Architects & Engineers.

Competitors include Samsung-affiliated Samoo, Haean Architects, Junglim Architecture, and Hanmi Global, all competing on design capability, overseas networks, and CM expertise.

More recently, the company has partnered with Megazone Cloud to develop a generative AI-based building code review system, reflecting parallel efforts to digitize the design process.

As a project-based service business, revenue recognition follows the progress of design and supervision contracts, a structural characteristic typical of order-driven industries.

Consolidated revenue in 2025 was KRW 231.9 billion, slightly down from KRW 241.0 billion in 2024, while operating profit fell sharply to KRW 9.1 billion (3.9% margin) from KRW 15.3 billion (6.3% margin) in 2024. Owners' net profit likewise declined from KRW 12.9 billion in 2024 to KRW 7.8 billion in 2025.

Compared with 2023, when revenue was KRW 228.7 billion and operating profit was KRW 7.4 billion (3.2% margin), the 2024 margin improvement now looks like an outlier, with 2025 reverting toward the margin levels seen in 2022-2023.

The quarterly pattern shows even sharper swings: operating profit was KRW 2.75 billion (about 4.6% margin) in Q2 2025, then collapsed to just KRW 73 million (about 0.1% margin) in Q3 2025 on revenue of KRW 55.8 billion.

It rebounded to KRW 3.9 billion (about 6.6% margin) in Q4 2025, with owners' net profit jumping to KRW 4.8 billion, the highest of the period, a level that may have included non-recurring items.

Operating profit then dropped again to KRW 1.16 billion (about 1.9% margin) in Q1 2026 before recovering to KRW 2.25 billion (about 4.0% margin) in Q2 2026. Owners' net profit summed over the trailing four quarters (Q3 2025 to Q2 2026) came to roughly KRW 7.6 billion, below the 2024 annual level and closer to 2023. Operating cash flow was KRW 14.0 billion in 2025, down from KRW 25.0 billion in 2024 but still positive.

Korea's architectural design and CM industry is heavily influenced by the volume of redevelopment/reconstruction orders and the broader public and private construction investment cycle.

Large-scale redevelopment projects in Seoul's Mokdong, Gangnam districts (Apgujeong, Banpo, Daechi), and Songpa are proceeding through design-firm selection processes in succession, keeping competition for design rights intense.

Some analysts also point to expanding semiconductor fab investment by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix as a source of fresh demand for the construction sector overall.

In overseas markets, the Middle East carries expectations tied to geopolitical themes such as Iranian reconstruction, Saudi Arabia's large-scale future-city projects, and Ukraine reconstruction, though actual contract signing typically involves significant lag and uncertainty.

Competitively, Heerim contends with major CM specialist Hanmi Global, Samsung-affiliated Samoo Architects & Engineers, and firms such as Haean and Junglim on design capability, overseas networks, and pricing.

The domestic market has already matured, so incremental growth tends to depend on redevelopment order volume and success in overseas expansion.

The current cycle is generally characterized by a combination of active domestic redevelopment ordering and overseas order expectations, though actual revenue recognition can lag behind project progress.

In May 2026 the company was selected as the design firm for the Mokdong Complex 1 redevelopment, its third design win in the Mokdong area following Complexes 12 and 14, and it has since been competing for design rights in the so-called 'Olympic redevelopment trio' in Songpa district, comprising Olympic Family Town, Olympic Athletes' Village, and Asian Athletes' Village.

In the Gangnam area, the company has stated its intent to build on design track records at Apgujeong District 3, Banpo Mido Complex 1, and Daechi Eunma Apartment to pursue further orders.

Overseas, expectations around Middle East reconstruction participation are supported by its history as the first Korean entrant into Iran's market, including the Atlas Pars complex and a general hospital project, and it is reportedly pursuing participation in large-scale future-city projects such as 'New Murabba' through its Riyadh, Saudi Arabia office.

However, many of these overseas projects remain at pre-contract stages, so the timing of any actual revenue contribution requires confirmation. In February 2026 the company decided to dispose of 291,400 treasury shares to fund employee performance incentives, reflecting a workforce retention and compensation move.

Future earnings are likely to hinge on the pace of revenue recognition from domestic redevelopment design work and whether overseas order pipelines convert into signed contracts.