I am honored and pleased to meet all of you attending this forum. 

I am Yoon Bong-Hak, president of Busan Financial News. 

I would like to thank the Vice Mayor of Busan for Economic Affairs Park Sung-Hoon, 

BNK Financial Group President & CEO Kim JI-Wan, Korea Maritime & Ocean University President 

Doh Doeg-Hee, Busan Citizen Network for Saving Economy, President Park In-Ho, 

Korea Technology Finance Corporation Executive Vice President Cho Gyu-Dae and 

the Korea Asset Management Corporation Director Namgung-Yeong who have attended to celebrate 

this event amid the global coronavirus pandemic.

Especially, I deliver my heartfelt gratitude to Oaktree Capital Managing Director Kook Soon-Woong 

who has come from Hong Kong as a special speaker to this forum. Also I wish to express 

my sincere appreciation to Busan International Financial Promotion Agency President Kim Jong-Hwa 

who organized this event. 

I extend thanks to Financial News Media Group Chairman Jeon Jae-Ho who has come to 

this forum to encourage everyone in attendance. 

This year marks the 7th forum and the Busan Metropolitan City, BNK Financial Group, 

Pusan National University Graduate School of Finance and the Korea Maritime & Ocean University 

Graduate School of Maritime Finance are the co-hosts of the forum. 

I would like to thank Lee Jang-Woo, Dean of the Pusan National University 

Graduate School of Finance, and Lee Ki-Hwan and Kim Jae-Bong, former and current 

Dean of the Korea Maritime & Ocean University Graduate School of Maritime Finance. 

Ladies and gentlemen, it has been over 10 years since Busan was designated as a financial hub. 

But we still have a long way to go, including attracting foreign financial institutions. 

So, the theme of this year’s forum has been set as “Develop Global Competitiveness of 

Financial Hub Busan.” 

We are hosting the forum both on and offline due to COVID-19. 

We have paid attention to social distancing, in line with the government policy. 

I call attention to the fact that we have invited great scholars to attend online this year, 

who could not be invited offline due to spatial and temporal limitations. 

Busan was actually appointed as the first ever block chain regulation-free area in the world. 

We have created time to present an empirical case of block chain technology, 

innovatively promoted by Busan City as a theme. 

I hope this forum will become a venue to seek a direction and a solution in order to promote 

a new leap forward of Busan as a Financial Hub. I wish you all success and happiness. 

Thank you. 

Yoon Bong-Hak

President

Busan Financial News