Lee Yeon-woo is a financial journalist at The Korea Times. Her wide range of reporting includes policies, macroeconomics, stock market, companies and even crypto. She is passionate about connecting the dots in Korean finance and making it easier for foreign nationals to understand. Based on her previous experience as a national reporter, she also has a keen interest in social issues within the sector, including gender equality and ESG. Your tips and insights are always appreciated. You can send them to yanu@koreatimes.co.kr.
INTERVIEW 'Busan can outshine Estonia, Luxemburg in digital transformation'
Busan Digital Asset Nexus (Bdan) CEO Kim Sang-min / Courtesy of Bdan
By Lee Yeon-woo
Going beyond commodities, Bdan CEO aims to digitize Busan and sell it to the world
Busan has long been known for its bustling ports and global trade links. Now, the city is setting its sights on a more ambitious export: itself.
At the heart of that vision is Busan Digital Asset Nexus (Bdan), launched last October as Korea's only exchange dedicated to real-world assets (RWA).
Unlike conventional crypto platforms that deal solely in digital tokens, Bdan's offerings are tied to seven tangible commodities, including gold, silver, platinum, palladium and copper. The platform has more than 1.2 million registered users and cumulative transactions totaling 1.2 trillion won ($866 million).
For CEO Kim Sang-min, commodities are just the starting point.
"I've often been asked what Bdan's most important product is," Kim said in a recent interview with The Korea Times. "For me, the most powerful RWA is Busan. My goal is to digitize this asset and sell it to the world."
Kim, a former member of Korea’s 19th National Assembly, was known during his tenure for actively engaging with fintech entrepreneurs, including Lee Seung-gun, founder and CEO of Viva Republica. His early encounters with the broader technology landscape left a lasting impression.
In 2016, he experimented with launching a blockchain-based political party, proposing to accept membership fees in Bitcoin and even appoint an artificial intelligence (AI) system to the party's executive leadership. The idea, however, was considered too radical and failed to gain traction, according to Kim.
Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon speaks at Blockchain Week Busan 2024, held at a hotel in Busan in October 2024. Courtesy of the event's secretariat
Undeterred, Kim maintained close ties to the blockchain sector. In 2022, he began serving as a blockchain policy advisor for the city of Busan — a role that eventually led him to the helm of Bdan.
"Bdan is the first exchange in Korea to be led by a local government, based on a bipartisan ordinance," Kim said. "It was then established entirely with private capital raised through a public offering. Busan acts as the designer and facilitator, while the private sector drives its growth."
On June 17, Bdan took a decisive step toward its next chapter by acquiring SenGold, a RWA exchange operated by Korea Gold Exchange Digital Asset. The move will accelerate Bdan’s expansion beyond precious metals into commodities such as flour, crude oil, cocoa and wine.
"If Coupang is a digital platform for purchasing all consumer goods, then Bdan is a digital platform for investing in all physical assets," Kim said. "Right now, there are seven, but everything can become a tradable asset."
For Kim, this evolution is more than a business strategy — it's a stepping stone toward his ultimate ambition of using Bdan to digitalize Busan by 2035.
"To survive in the flow of the digital industry, we need to go back to the essence," Kim said. "This isn’t a race to see who can build the fastest elevator; it’s a game of who owns the land on which the building can be built. And that 'land' is data."
"All of Busan's well-established logistics systems are digital assets," Kim added. "It is indeed the prime land in the digital era."
From left to right, Naver Pay CEO Park Sang-jin, Busan Digital Asset Nexus (Bdan) CEO Kim Sang-min, and Hashed CEO Kim Seo-joon, pose after signing an agreement to develop a Web3 digital wallet for Busan citizens, at Bdan's Busan headquarters, May 30. Courtesy of Bdan
Since 2019, Busan has been working to create a "second renaissance" built on technology, including securing blockchain regulation-free zone status for 17 areas across the city.
In May, Bdan signed a three-way partnership with global blockchain investor Hashed and payment giant Naver Pay to develop a digital wallet. Tentatively named Bdan Pouch, it aims to be a "super app" combining payments, remittances and investments for Busan citizens.
"For example, citizens will be able to make payments and verify their identities using the Bdan Pouch," Kim said. "Legal tender will be exchanged for crypto, and RWAs can be both invested in and sold — all with AI supporting every step of the process."
The rollout will be tied to Busan's local currency, which offers cashback rewards at affiliated merchants, a move Kim expects will spur rapid adoption. The initial goal is to equip all 3.3 million residents with a digital wallet.
"You could say our company has entered its second founding," Kim said.
Could this new project in Busan be a future economic engine for Korea as well?
"When we talk about digitalized nations, examples like Estonia or Luxembourg often come up," he said. "While they are indeed impressive, Busan’s population exceeds theirs. Implementing digital finance, blockchain and AI seamlessly into everyday life here is almost a national-scale project."
Bdan is already in talks to replicate the model in Cambodia, with longer-term ambitions across Asia. Kim said the launch of the Asia Digital Asset Exchange Alliance last October — bringing together members from Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia — will be a major boost.
"We would likely be the first to achieve digital transformation on a megacity of this scale," Kim said. "So why not aim to be number one in the world?"