Opening remarks by Choi Jin-young, Herald Media Group CEO
"We stand at a turning point where the history of finance is being rewritten. I hope this gathering today leads us toward a financial future that more people can share in."
Choi Jin-young, publisher and CEO of Herald Media Group, made the remarks Monday at the inaugural World Digital Assets Forum (WDAF), hosted by The Herald Business and The Korea Herald at The Grand Lotte Seoul in Sogong-dong. Choi said digital assets are building a new financial order — one that will reshape the roles and standing of every economic actor within it.
Now in its first year, WDAF is organized around the theme "The New Financial Architecture," examining shifts and the outlook in global financial markets. Speakers from around the world gathered to address real-world asset tokenization, corporate digital asset management strategy and digital payments.
"Finance has advanced alongside innovation aimed at exchanging value faster, more safely and more efficiently," Choi said. "We are witnessing a moment when financial innovation is preparing for yet another fundamental leap." Choi said blockchain and digital assets are poised to become the center of a new "order" that redefines the history of finance.
Choi went on to say that digital assets are far more than a simple investment product. "This is about redesigning the way assets are issued, owned and transferred — and, beyond that, the very principles by which the financial system operates," Choi said, adding that this vision is why this year's forum adopted "The New Financial Architecture" as its theme.
Choi also drew attention to the roles each actor must play amid this shift in the financial order. "As countries around the world bring digital assets into the regulatory mainstream, an important opportunity is opening for South Korea as well," Choi said. "If sound regulation and international cooperation are added to our information and communications infrastructure, talented technology workforce and dynamic financial and fintech industries, South Korea can become a hub of the new digital financial order."
Choi added: "The new financial order cannot be completed by the power of any single company or country alone. It becomes reality only when technology, capital, regulation and trust are connected and advance together. Herald will fulfill its responsibility and role as a media outlet that documents change in depth and connects the world."
park.jiyeong@heraldcorp.com
