“A single decision could lead to a loss of hundreds of billions of won, yet decision-making was still reliant on Excel and personal experience.”
Junwoo Kim, CEO of Workspace Group, completed his Master's degree in Architecture and has experience working on large-scale projects at a real estate development team at a large architectural firm.
He discovered a serious problem: market decision-making was too manual.
"Working on B2B real estate projects, including office buildings, hotels, hospitals, and research centers, as part of a real estate development team, I learned just how complex the industry requires. Yet, I found that decision-making relied heavily on Excel and personal experience."
"The same mistakes are repeated on every project, and the data doesn't accumulate."
The bigger problem was repetition.
"The same mistakes were repeated project after project, but no data was accumulated. The cost of judgment was tens of billions of won, and much of the work involved in calculating the basis was excessively manual."
Therefore, the market Workspace focused on was small and medium-sized real estate with a total project cost of less than 200 billion won and a floor area of less than 2,000 pyeong. He recalled, "Advanced management technologies used in mega-projects didn't exist in this market," and "The risks have increased significantly due to the surge in material and labor costs following COVID-19." CEO Kim Jun-woo recognized the need for a specialized organization built on real-world data-driven technology, and founded Workspace in the summer of 2021.
"Innovation in the construction industry isn't about flashy new technologies. It's about quantifying business performance and costs, and creating a structure that allows for stable management."
Automated technology built from 65,000 sets of data, with a 98% re-order rate.
Workspace Group has strategically established a three-legged structure.
The company is comprised of a headquarters responsible for project planning and management, a firm specializing in architecture, interior design, permitting, and supervision, and a construction and site management firm. The headquarters is located in Gangnam, Seoul, and operates both domestically and internationally.
"Over the past three years, we've achieved an average annual growth rate of 280%, leveraging our patented technology-based solutions and construction project management SaaS (Software-as-a-Service). We were selected for the Deep Tech Track of the 2025 Startup Leap Forward Package hosted by the Gyeonggi Center for Creative Economy and Innovation, and we've completed integrated ISO 9001, 14001, and 45001 certifications, further enhancing our service quality and operational stability."
The core of the workspace is business optimization, standard quotation, and integrated business management technology.
"In B2B real estate, project success still hinges on human capabilities. Too much human intervention is involved. Therefore, data omissions, analyst bias, and failure to identify risk factors in advance can lead to project risks."
Another problem is that "initial business analysis data" isn't consistently managed until the entire project is completed. Workspace analyzed over 65,000 sets of actual data, including drawings and estimates accumulated over the past five years. They then organized variables related to construction costs, operating expenses, labor, process, and material costs, and developed automated and standardized technology.
SPACER AI integrates and optimizes drawings, processes, construction methods, and quantities using BIM-based algorithms. The PMS system is a cost estimation system that standardizes costs for each process. PCM SaaS is a cloud-based management solution that manages the entire project process in real time.
According to CEO Kim Jun-woo, Workspace recently won and completed a full hospital remodeling project with a total floor area of 1,900 pyeong.
He emphasized that “our clients’ project re-commissioning rate is 98%,” and is focusing on applying his company’s brand ‘BUILDUS’ to offices and hospitals, while expanding the scope of application to high-tech facilities and senior complexes.
Waste Material Utilization and ESG Campaigns: "Proving Through Action, Not Just Declarations"
The workspace also focused on environmental issues in the real estate and construction industries.
"Even if we develop eco-friendly materials, the structure inherently consumes natural resources. Rather than tearing down existing buildings and building new ones, we sought to address environmental and social issues by finding ways to repurpose existing spaces."
"Project Zero" is an ESG practice campaign born from these concerns. It focuses on reusing and improving recyclability of waste materials and exploring new uses for available space. The Jeju Project Zero event, spearheaded by CEO Kim Jun-woo in April 2024, attracted approximately 1,000 attendees. Around 20 eco-friendly and upcycling brands, ranging from large corporations like Kolon Sport and Sotso River Bus to startups, participated.
"This was the result of Workspace directly reaching out to brands and fostering a shared understanding of their values. It created opportunities for collaboration among participating companies and increased the potential for upcycling construction materials. We plan to expand this initiative into developing private brand construction material products in the future."
CEO Kim Jun-woo explained a strategy that connects technology, space, and ESG campaigns.
"The current real estate market is shifting from new construction to remodeling and value enhancement. Strategies that enhance the value of existing buildings without excessive costs or resource consumption within their lifespan have become increasingly important. Reusing existing spaces and recycling waste materials are strategies that not only make environmental sense but also ensure business viability."
Workspace has been gradually accumulating overseas experience. He explained, "In 2023, we participated in a National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA) overseas ODA project to build a startup support training center for a local university in Bolivia. We also gained global experience by supporting an overseas project for a domestic client participating in CES 2025." Currently, we are exploring the potential application of our technology, focusing on the Americas and Southeast Asia.
"We are expanding into overseas markets, focusing on Southeast Asian countries with high real estate development potential. We are confident that we can modularize and apply different systems and cost structures across countries and markets."
"Changing Decision-Making with Technology and Leaping Forward as a Comprehensive Real Estate Group"
The market innovations and company changes that CEO Kim Jun-woo wants to bring about in the future are clear.
"Technology will fundamentally transform the decision-making process and business management systems of the real estate and construction industries, and based on this, Workspace will grow into a comprehensive real estate group."
Workspace is creating a structure where the entire process, from business analysis to planning, design, construction, and operation, is connected as a single flow, with data accumulating and learning throughout the process. He explained, "It's not simply about improving efficiency; it's about transforming real estate into a more predictable and sustainable asset."
Going forward, we plan to create a decision-making system that will become standard in the small and medium-sized real estate market and redefine the value of existing assets through remodeling and value-enhancement-focused projects.
"Our goal isn't to create a one-time project, but rather to build a structure that builds trust and data over time. We will demonstrate sustainability through action, not just declarations."
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