CBRE Korea Facilitates Gangnam Finance Center’s GBAC STAR Accreditation.

First office property in Korea to earn accreditation, strengthening competitiveness in property management

May 2, 2023 (Seoul, Korea) – CBRE Korea, a global commercial real estate services company, announced that Gangnam Finance Center (GFC) has been awarded the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC STAR) certification by the International Sanitary Supply Association (ISSA) with support from CBRE’s Property Management services.

GFC, the largest office asset in Korea, is a premium business building boasting 45 floors above ground and eight basement levels, with a gross floor area of 212,615㎡. Designed to achieve a perfect harmony between environment, technology, and building users, GFC has been under CBRE's property management services since 2007. GFC is the first commercial office building in Korea to achieve and renew the platinum LEED-EB (Existing Buildings) certification in 2013 and 2018, further solidifying its commitment to sustainability.

The GBAC STAR Accreditation Program is an international certification that recognizes facilities with rigorous sanitation and disinfection systems, and is the only program in the industry that certifies virus proactive response and recovery. The Global Biorisk Advisory Council, composed of world-renowned experts in biohazard management, systematically evaluates 20 key factors, including cleanliness, disinfection, and infectious disease prevention programs, in a step-by-step process. GFC is the only office building in Korea to have achieved this certification, with the majority of recipients being 5-star hotels.

GFC has implemented effective and efficient cleaning and disinfection safety protocols in line with GBAC STAR requirements, and strictly complies with international standards for infection prevention and bio-risk response. This ensures a safe and sustainable environment for employees and visitors in the building, and strengthens its ability to respond to infectious diseases, thereby enhancing competitiveness in the post-COVID-19 era and positioning GFC as a leader in ESG management.

In addition to GFC, CBRE's Property Management team provides services to prime office buildings in major business districts such as the Seoul Finance Center, Seoul Square, Centropolis, Samsung SDS Tower, and the Federation of Korean Industries. The team offers comprehensive solutions to maximize asset value in building operations, maintenance, financial reporting, lease management, and marketing.

"The fact that GFC, a prime building for which CBRE provides property management services, has earned GBAC STAR, the world's most prestigious international certification for environmental disinfection, is a testament to CBRE's expertise and capabilities," said Don Lim, Managing Director and Country Representative of CBRE Korea. "In addition to the GBAC STAR certification, we will proactively provide world-class services to enhance asset value, further establishing ourselves as a trusted property management company."