The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has announced the winners of its 'Zero-Energy Building Business Model Idea Competition,' held to raise public interest in zero-energy building and to discover private market–driven business model ideas.
This competition focused on identifying ideas that are easy for the public to participate in, that can be operated under private-sector leadership, and that are feasible to implement. In the end, five financial models were selected.
During the competition period, the Ministry actively utilized social media, online blogs, cafés, and similar channels to broaden participation among architecture- and real estate–related departments at universities nationwide, as well as institutions related to architecture and finance. In addition, to make the competition's theme more accessible, the Ministry pursued in-depth discussion forums with experts and made efforts to gather a range of opinions on invigorating zero-energy building.
The submitted ideas were reviewed by nine experts in the fields of architecture and finance, who conducted online and presentation-based evaluations of whether each idea was a creative concept that could ease the economic burden from the consumer's perspective and whether it was feasible.
The five ideas selected as winners will be further developed going forward through expert review and collaboration with relevant agencies.
The Grand Prize was awarded to the idea by Shin Yu-jin and three others (Kyung Hee University), who proposed leveraging private capital by issuing special-purpose bonds for zero-energy building. The Excellence Awards went to the idea by Kim Ye-in and two others (Ewha Womans University), who proposed using proceeds from subscription funds and the power trading market as construction financing for zero-energy housing, and to the idea by Lee Gu (S.Pure Cell Co., Ltd.), who proposed applying differentiated benefits—such as crowdfunding and eased lending regulations—according to the characteristics of a building's passive and active elements. The Encouragement Awards went to the idea by Park Ju-young (Konkuk University), who proposed selling zero-energy housing subscription products and using the funds raised as operating capital for zero-energy building support projects, and to the idea by Lee Dong-young (Korea Appraisal Board), who proposed easing lending regulations only for housing that has received preliminary zero-energy building certification.