Title Sponsor Opening Keynote
Ethereum Korea One: Genesis · Day 1 · 2026-09-28 · 7:30 · In Korean
The opening keynote from Bongseok Kwak, CEO of DB Securities, title sponsor of Ethereum Korea One: Genesis. Kwak presents DB Securities' execution plan for connecting traditional finance with the Ethereum ecosystem.
Speakers
- Bongseok Kwak, CEO, DB Securities
About this session
Bongseok Kwak sees Ethereum not as a technology that operates apart from traditional finance, but as common infrastructure that connects financial institutions and markets in a trustworthy way. Kwak explains how DB Securities will execute, through the Busan security token project in Korea and through collaboration with the Ethereum ecosystem globally.
Key takeaways
- Kwak said that becoming title sponsor is not simple sponsorship. It reflects the view that Korea's traditional financial institutions should be the hub of the digital asset transition, and a commitment to lead by example through responsible execution.
- Ethereum lets issuance, transfer, and settlement of assets be redesigned, but "technology by itself is not the answer for finance." Kwak stressed that markets earn trust only when the accountability of traditional finance works together with the openness of blockchain.
- DB Securities' Digital Asset Business Team started as a task force in November 2025 and became a formal organization in May 2026. It pursues three tracks: security token issuance and structuring, platform building, and government and global collaboration.
- The first case is a carbon reduction STO platform development and commercialization project in Busan, backed by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA). DB Securities leads STO structure design and financial structuring in a consortium with Busan startup MarinaChain. The goal is not a technology demo but to verify whether security tokens can take hold as a funding tool for the real economy.
- Kwak presented the partnership with the Optimism Foundation signed last July as the first step of global expansion, and said DB Securities will design a structure that adds the flexibility of the global ecosystem within the guardrails of regulation and investor protection.
- To global institutions, Kwak described the Korean market as being at an inflection point, with high digital finance usage, solid capital market infrastructure, and clear investor protection standards. DB Securities, Kwak said, will focus on "reliable execution" rather than hasty promotion.