Oihyun is Sandmark's Seoul-based East Asia Editor, covering policy and regulation, markets, technology and AI across the region.
With nearly 20 years in journalism, he joined Sandmark in May 2026 from BeInCrypto, where he was East Asia Editor-in-Chief.
He previously led CoinDesk Korea as its editor-in-chief, one of the first institutional-grade digital asset newsrooms in the region.
Most of his career was spent at the Hankyoreh, one of Korea's leading dailies, where he served as Beijing bureau chief from 2016 to 2019. He received the Korean Newspaper Award for his reporting on the 2014 "nut rage" incident, in which a Korean Air executive ordered a taxiing aircraft back to the gate. He also served as an assistant secretary at Korea's presidential office.
He studied Chinese as an undergraduate and holds a master's degree in North Korean studies. He teaches technology and journalism at a local university and is the author of six books, including A History of the Terra Project and A Guide to Won-Denominated Stablecoins.
He holds bitcoin at a value of $5,000 or above.
