InterviewOpportunity for all: Lucentblock reshapes real estate investment with financial innovation

Lucentblock's SOU platform for fractional real estate investment / Courtesy of Lucentblock

Lucentblock, established in 2018 and based in Daejeon, is the first fintech company outside the Seoul metropolitan area to be recognized by the Financial Services Commission as an innovative financial service provider.

Under its vision statement of “Until anyone can access any asset,” the firm operates SOU, a platform for fractional real estate investment that lists properties on an exchange and issues profit securities, opening a new path for inclusive real estate participation.

Fractional investment involves dividing high-value assets or rights, such as buildings or artworks, into tradable shares, enabling many investors to participate with relatively small amounts.

In a recent interview with The Korea Times, CEO and co-founder Huh Se-young, also known as Phillip Huh, said that SOU is transforming the conventional asset market while fostering an ecosystem where investors, tenants and local communities can grow together.

Demonstrating its effectiveness, the platform has so far sold out 11 offerings and in July, the company marked its first successful exit by selling a shared office building in Daejeon, delivering tangible benefits to the regional economy.

Huh said the inspiration for the business came from questions like, “What if people without significant capital could still invest in real estate through monthly rental contracts?” and “What if, when a property’s value doubles or triples, a portion of that profit could be shared?”

Huh Se-young, CEO and co-founder of Lucentblock / Courtesy of Lucentblock

“Property owners are not the only ones bearing investment risks. Tenants also contribute by adding value to the space, while consumers enhance the overall worth by engaging with it,” he said. “I began to think about whether we could build a model of shared growth, where owners, tenants and consumers all develop together and benefit collectively. That line of thought ultimately shaped the direction of our business.”

The SOU platform adopts a bankruptcy-remote structure in which real estate is registered with a trust company, converted into trust assets and then divided into 5,000 won ($3.6) units to issue profit securities.

These securities are electronically registered with the Korea Securities Depository, while Hana Securities, as the account management institution, oversees client deposits and securities. Through this structure, token security transactions are transparently recorded, allowing risks to be effectively isolated.

“If Lucentblock were to own properties directly, the complexity of management and operations would inevitably increase,” Huh said. “But under our current model, the trust company handles real estate management, the account management institution maintains ownership records and the depository manages electronic registration. By distributing responsibilities in this way, risks are spread and governance is clearly defined.”

Huh noted that fractional real estate investment enhances accessibility by sourcing and securitizing small- and mid-sized properties that traditional real estate investment trusts or funds often cannot manage efficiently.

He emphasized that investors can handpick the properties they want to invest in, making it possible to build a more customized portfolio based on preferred locations or property types.

Another advantage is the ability to earn stable monthly dividends, while also ensuring liquidity, since shares can be traded at any time. This structure enables investors to manage their assets more flexibly in line with changing market conditions.

Huh believes that for the security token offering market to become more mainstream, improving customer satisfaction and ensuring strong protection are key.

He compared it to an amusement park, where the top priority is not “fun” but “safety,” highlighting that trust and protection are the most critical factors in financial services. These values were central when designing the SOU platform.

According to Huh, 70 percent of SOU users are millennials or younger, and 40 percent are women. He attributes this to the appeal of being able to invest in real estate with small amounts, the opportunity to connect personally with property ownership and the experience of seeing online investments support offline engagement, such as stimulating local business activity.

“This approach is creating a new customer segment within the traditional financial investment market, which I think is very meaningful,” Huh said. “When choosing assets, we weighed both potential returns and the user experience, but our main focus was on what matters most to our customers. That’s why we’ve experimented with a variety of properties, including F&B brands, cafe startup spaces and regional hotels. By reflecting the diverse preferences of our users, we create a range of tailored investment products.”

When asked about keeping Lucentblock’s headquarters in Daejeon, rather than in areas like Gyeonggi Province’s Pangyo, Korea’s premier startup cluster, Huh explained that his motivation was to contribute to addressing social issues rather than merely running a business.

“In the United States, tech companies are not all concentrated in Silicon Valley. Amazon is in Seattle, and Microsoft is in Redmond. While Facebook and Google are in Silicon Valley, major tech firms are spread across the country,” he said. “In Korea, however, most platform companies and startups are concentrated in Teheran-ro in Seoul’s Gangnam District and in Pangyo. I wanted to see if it would be possible to build a thriving ecosystem in Daejeon where people could work and collaborate, rather than merely locate our headquarters there.”

He acknowledged that commuting between Seoul and Daejeon some 300 times a year is challenging, but he considers the decision highly meaningful.

Huh emphasized that his focus will be less on specific financial products and more on creating services rooted in a strong, clear philosophy, as he believes that fostering sustainability is more important than pursuing short-term targets.

Instead of aiming for immediate numerical goals, he prioritizes gradually building meaningful initiatives while adhering to the company’s core principles and long-term direction.

“Our primary objective is to drive sustainable growth within the framework of financial consumer protection and to convey that value to our customers,” Huh said. “We intend to stay true to our long-term vision while concentrating on surviving and making steady progress each day.”