The urban development project site, filled with paper documents, seals, and countless pieces of mail, was a digitally isolated area. Thousands of union member lists were written by hand, and registered mail was sent to hold general meetings. In addition, the time and cost increased exponentially in the process of compiling written resolutions one by one. Union members had difficulty accessing information, and it was not easy to participate in important decision-making. It was common for hundreds of millions of won to be spent on rental fees, printing costs, and postage to hold general meetings.
The 'We' platform is what changed the landscape of urban development sites. It is a service that uses digital technology to move all administrative and operational stages of urban development projects online. It systematically manages the entire process from the establishment of the association to liquidation.
The time it took to prepare the membership list, which used to take nearly a week, has been reduced to one day, and the general meeting cost, which used to be 180 million won, has been reduced by more than 90% to 15 million won. A bigger change is the transparency of the union's operations. The information imbalance has been resolved as various information and documents have been digitized and made accessible to all union members. 
“I have never seen so much money and time wasted.”
The shock of that time can be felt in CEO Yoon Eui-jin’s voice. He explains while showing the ‘We’ platform on a tablet on the table. “In particular, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on the existing face-to-face-centered administrative method. We couldn’t even hold union general meetings, and many places where business was halted.”
'We', developed by E-M Company, is a platform that integrates the union operation system (OMS), the general meeting management system (VMS), and the union's exclusive homepage. It is characterized by not simply transferring paper to digital, but organically connecting all data in the business process to create new value.
A leading company in digital transformation that has secured credibility through special cases of verification
The main difference of 'We' is that it is a government-certified platform. CEO Yoon Eui-jin recalls the situation at the time. "There were solutions that provided only some functions in the past, but there were frequent disputes regarding legal validity. We received the Ministry of Science and ICT's ICT regulation sandbox demonstration special case and secured legal stability for electronic voting, online general meetings, and electronic consent forms."
The process was not smooth. “The Urban Planning Act was complex and involved many stakeholders, so there was a high regulatory wall. We had to go through multiple document submissions, technical verification, presentations, and Q&A.”
Obtaining a special case for verification has become a factor in gaining trust from the market beyond technical recognition. The fact that it is a service recognized by the government has become a selection criterion in conservative urban development project sites.
The innovative impact of the integrated platform
The core of the 'We' platform is a cloud-based modular structure. Depending on the size of the union or the stage of the business, necessary functions can be selectively introduced. The screen demonstrated by CEO Yoon Eui-jin shows everything from the union member list to the voting status and the progress of the business at a glance. In particular, the 'We Community' is a communication space where only certified union members can participate, and serves as a base for information disclosure and decision-making.
“Urban development projects are a field with a lot of conflict. However, if information is transparently disclosed and the decision-making process is recorded, misunderstandings and disputes will decrease.” As CEO Yoon Eui-jin explains, ‘We’ is attempting structural changes to the business beyond digitalization.
The actual introduction effect is also confirmed in numbers. Results include a 90% reduction in general meeting costs, a 95% reduction in operating costs, a reduction in the period for preparing the member list from 7 days to 1 day, and an 80% or higher participation rate in general meetings. Such increased efficiency and cost reduction are likely to lead to a reduction in the members' contributions.
“Our competitiveness lies in three aspects: integration, credibility, and specialized design for urban development projects.” This is supported by external evaluations, such as winning the Republic of Korea Urban Innovation Award for two consecutive years and obtaining five types of ISO/IEC international standard certifications.
However, some in the industry are concerned that the participation of older members may be limited in the digital transformation process. In response, CEO Yoon Eui-jin said, “We are working to reduce the digital gap through intuitive user environments and on-site training.”
CEO Yoon Ui-jin looks into the future of urban development projects. “Urban development projects are the driving force behind urban development, but there are aspects where they have failed to fulfill their role due to conflict and inefficiency. Our goal is to solve these problems and create a transparent digital environment that stakeholders can trust.”
In the flow of digital transformation, the attempt of 'we' is changing the direction of the entire industry beyond technological advancement. The process of changing the analog urban development site represented by paper, seals, and registered mail into a digital platform is 'in progress'.
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