Busan has launched a research center dedicated to AI-powered digital finance, pairing blockchain and artificial intelligence with finance to drive talent training, joint research and commercialization. The Busan Metropolitan Government said the Busan Blockchain and AI Digital Finance Innovation Research Center began full-scale operations after an opening ceremony on the morning of the 13th.

The facility sits on the 23rd floor of BIFC II, part of the Busan International Finance Center complex, in the Munhyeon Financial Complex in Nam-gu, Busan. Its 229㎡ of space house office areas, a dedicated education center and a seminar room. According to the city, the center will offer specialized training, research and development based on corporate demand, technical advice and proof-of-concept support.

As MK reported, the city drew on its experience from Munhyeon Financial Complex's designation in 2019 as a blockchain regulation-free special zone — a designation under which companies can demonstrate new technologies and services with certain regulations waived — when creating the center. Its stated goals are to strengthen research capacity, secure original technologies and advance digital-finance technology, while responding to shifts in digital finance by bringing blockchain and AI into the sector.

Research Agenda Tied to Companies

Researchers plan to identify the technical difficulties facing digital-finance companies based in the Munhyeon Financial Complex and build them into joint research projects. The center's researchers and participating companies are expected to move from problem definition through technology design and verification, with the aim of carrying the results into development and commercialization.

The center is intended to tie talent training to company growth. The city described it as an anchor for digital-finance technology and a vehicle for building an ecosystem that combines finance with blockchain and AI. The announcement does not identify any specific companies, projects or technologies already selected for the center's research program, making the composition of its first joint projects one of the early details to watch.

That institutional focus sits within a wider wave of blockchain-finance activity, including financial institutions moving core operations onto blockchain networks and a blockchain platform built for financial institutions. Busan's announcement centers on research capacity and workforce development rather than a named financial product.

Universities and Industry Share the Work

Pusan National University oversees the center and will operate its College of Convergence Security Academy on site. The academy was selected through a government contest as a core convergence-security talent-training project, and its education and research will connect regional industries, including marine, port, shipbuilding and manufacturing, with blockchain- and AI-based convergence-security technologies.

Other local institutions have assigned roles: the Busan Metropolitan Government handles financial-policy support, the Busan International Finance Agency provides operational support and promotes cooperation projects, and Busan Techno Park is responsible for corporate cooperation and childcare, according to the announcement.

The center will also set up a working-level consultative body spanning local government, industry, universities and research institutes. The city expects the platform to help people who complete its practical training find internships, jobs or business opportunities with local companies, although the announcement gave no enrollment targets or hiring timetable.

The university and company links echo other institutional blockchain efforts, including the Canton Network's relationships with Korean financial institutions. The Busan center's stated emphasis is regional training and applied research across finance and local industries.

More than 100 people attended the opening ceremony, among them Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo, Pusan National University President Choi Jae-won, Busan Chamber of Commerce Chairman Yang Jae-yong and Nam-gu Mayor Park Jae-beom, along with officials from BIFC tenant companies and related organizations.

After the ceremony, the first Busan Financial Center Development Council meeting since the launch of the ninth popular election was held. The Korea Asset Management Corporation, the Korea Securities Depository, the Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Financial Supervisory Service's Busan Ulsan Support took part, discussing major financial policies and cooperation measures.

Mayor Jeon said the center would connect university capabilities with corporate demand, adding that the city would focus on developing professionals suited to regional industries and supporting company growth as Bus works toward becoming a digital-finance center. The announcement's stated next step is the center's planned research, training and cooperation with companies and local institutions.