Digital door locks are the first products developed and commercialized in Korea, and their market share is increasing to the extent that it is difficult to find a house without a digital door lock in recent years. In fact, the domestic penetration rate of digital door locks has exceeded 80%, and there is a demand for more than 2 million units each year due to breakdowns and moving problems.

But ironically, the situation in the domestic digital door lock market is not that good. All of the top domestic companies in the early stages of business have been sold to foreign companies and their technology is being leaked overseas, and the remaining companies are focusing only on price competition such as cost reduction, so technological development is not taking place. In overseas countries, the penetration rate of digital door locks is still less than 10%, so it is being spotlighted as a market with great potential. However, in Korea, the home country, the digital door lock market has not been growing for several years

In this situation, Raonak is opening a new phase in the digital door lock market by focusing on safe closing and locking technology, which is the core of digital door locks. The design has become simpler, the functions have been further strengthened, and IoT technology has been incorporated. We met in person with Raonark CEO Koo Min-ki, who is trying to regain his status as a leader in digital door locks with smart and safe products.

What kind of company is Raonark

Globally, the digital door lock market is growing by more than 20% every year. However, the global penetration rate is less than 10%. China and Southeast Asia started a little early, and the United States and Europe are just now being introduced. Among them, in the case of Korea, the market developed early enough to be said to be the leading country in digital door locks, but in fact, the market is currently being leaked overseas or the market is collapsing without creating value. Although it is not a dying industry, there has been no development for almost 20 years. The current situation in the domestic market is that it is focused on price competition without paying attention to technological advancement or customer value.

Accordingly, Raonak was founded with the ideology of returning to the core value of safe door locks. Raonark is a company specializing in Opening Innovation Solutions, established in 2020, and is comprised of top-tier digital door lock veterans with an average of 17 years of experience in the industry. With the intention to launch a new ship in the collapsing digital door lock industry and leap to the world's best through a pleasant voyage with only excellent talent on board, the name Raonak was created by combining Raon (happy) and Ark (Noah's Ark). Our company wants to handle not just door locks but all things that open and close with this technology. That's why we introduce ourselves as a company specializing in Opening Innovation Solutions.

What sets us apart

Raonark was the first in Korea to develop a smart door lock with a fully automatic mortise. When an existing door lock recognizes that the door is closed, it takes 2 seconds at the earliest or 3 to 4 seconds at the longest to lock. In our case, we have the technology to lock the door immediately when it is closed. Also, most door locks require a person to take another action, such as lowering or pulling the handle, after pressing the password to open the door. Ultimately, it is not a fully automatic method. Our automated Mortis technology automatically opens the door without any action once the user is authenticated. people talk about thisI don't often feel discomfort, but once I experience this method, I can't go back to the way it was before. In particular, there have been cases of stalking abusing the time when door locks are locked, so I think smart door locks will be a good alternative to improve these social problems.

In order to advance these door locks globally, localization is essential. The size, material, and key shape of the doors are different depending on the country. Therefore, general digital door locks must be made differently in each country. My previous company also made door locks for the U.S., but the specifications had to be rechecked and the development period took a very long time. Raonak modularized it so that it can be applied to any country. As a result, the development period could be shortened to about 6 months, and when exported overseas, the quality improved and the unit price became cheaper. This technology also currently has 10 domestic patents and 2 US patents registered.

Future goals

Laonark's goal is to become the world's No. 1 company through Opening Innovation in the industry encompassing digital door locks, access control, and home network systems. In addition, we plan to expand into a platform business that oversees the maintenance of various devices in the home, such as domestic and overseas digital door locks, by building a community not only for hardware but also for people in related industries. We also have a goal of turning workers in related industries who are currently living in poor environments into workers in valuable industries that are essential to society. Raonark will work tirelessly to realize the above-mentioned goal based on the original technology developed with industry experts.

Copyright © Economic News Unauthorized reproduction and redistribution prohibited