Seoul, South Korea - Proptech startup "Korea Proptech" recently won the Real Estate Service Industry Competition award.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport organized the event hosted by the KOREA REAL ESTATE BOARD.
Why it matters
In South Korea, where more than half of the population is concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area, the reconstruction of existing buildings, redevelopment of dilapidated housing complexes, and remodeling have created social problems due to opacity and business effects.
The startup solves these problems through transparent communication.
The Key Points
- Digital Authentication: The company's flagship service, HowMuchHome, brings homeowners into the modern age. It allows them to verify their identity with just a mobile phone.
- Solving common problems: Standard messaging platforms like KakaoTalk have historically been gateways for improprieties in urban redevelopment projects involving fraudulent landlords. A demographic shift toward the 50s and 60s, which may be less tech-savvy, exacerbates the challenge.
- Innovative IT Solutions: Modernity meets technology with HowMuchHome's community application. It includes everything from acquiring homeowners' lists to initiating contact to electronic voting and signatures - all within a single digital platform.
The Big Picture
Currently, the effectiveness of HowMuchHome's service is proven by the numbers.
In the case of "Mokdong Complex 3," a significant reconstruction project in Seoul, the approval rate for the proposed maintenance area was nearly 60% within three months.
Currently, HowMuchHome's service collects and manages owners' contacts electronically, automates the process of persuading and obtaining consent, and has set up a system that automatically sends encouraging texts to all owners of the given complex who have not given consent and verifies that they have given it up.
It will be interesting to see how the South Korean government, with the strong support of the Prime Minister, moves from opacity to transparency.
