Korea Asset Trust signed a memorandum of understanding with ING Story, the operator of premium study cafe and reading room brand Jakshim, to develop premium community facilities within residential complexes, the company announced Monday. The signing ceremony took place Thursday at Korea Asset Trust's Seoul headquarters.
Cho Hyeon-bin, executive managing director of Korea Asset Trust, and Kang Nam-gu, chief executive of ING Story, attended the ceremony along with other senior officials from both companies and discussed plans for future cooperation.
Under the agreement, Korea Asset Trust will introduce Jakshim — the top brand in its sector — into apartment and officetel developments it manages, while adopting a differentiated community outsourcing model aimed at improving pre-sale performance and resident satisfaction.
The two companies agreed to collaborate closely on three fronts: building and operating premium community facilities, including study cafes, at new development sites; supplying unmanned entry and exit kiosks; and integrating a dedicated membership management application for study cafe users.
As a first step, the companies plan to introduce Jakshim study cafes at the community facilities of residential complexes in Yeongju's Gaheung-dong and Nonsan's Naedong. They intend to expand the partnership to major development sites across the country from there.
Korea Asset Trust said it plans to incorporate Jakshim's spatial design guidelines from the planning and product design stages of future land trust projects. The approach is intended to overcome the limitations of community facilities that often sit idle or prove difficult to operate after a complex is completed, and to offer residents a premium lifestyle backed by a proven brand.
"In a period when the real estate trust industry is going through considerable difficulty, we cannot remain competitive by passively taking on projects that have already cleared regulatory approvals," a Korea Asset Trust official said. "Through a value-add strategy that draws on the expertise of our company and group across multiple areas — as demonstrated by bringing in the Jakshim brand — we will actively work to improve the viability and pre-sale performance of our land trust projects."
An ING Story official said the partnership with Korea Asset Trust was "a highly meaningful opportunity to expand our premium study cafe operating expertise into apartment communities as a new base and create new business opportunities." The official added that the company plans to "further strengthen our core competency in the space business by continuing to provide differentiated services and content suited to residential environments."
hss@heraldcorp.com
