Recently, an increase in the design of the utilization of underground spaces has been beginning to receive more attention in Korea. Due to continuous complaints of environmental quality, the developer must identify potentially-negative aspects that are related to the physical characteristics of underground spaces. This research aims to determine the sustainable design guidelines for underground developments in relation to the visual environment. At the first stage, this paper deals with the evaluation of already-built examples to determine the problems pervading in the underground spaces of high-rise offices recently built in Korea. The visual aspect in terms of illuminance and the human responses with regard to naturally occurring lighting in the underground environment are of the issues of major interest. A series of model simulation provides the advanced configurations of commonly-used sunken structures and skylight systems as a better solution for the need of sustainability in underground development.