[비즈한국] Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data specialist B2en is attracting industry attention by adding token-related ventures to its business objectives. B2en previously gained notoriety in political circles for its history of providing server management services to the National Election Commission (NEC) from 2018 to June 2023. After it was revealed that the company had been acquired by the Ssangbangwool Group, suspicions were raised linking the NEC service contract to the group; however, B2en held the NEC contract before it was acquired by Ssangbangwool. Recently, a court ordered individuals who raised these suspicions to pay damages to B2en. With its largest shareholder changed once again, all eyes are now on B2en as it pushes into new ventures like security tokens (STO) and fractional investment based on its AI expertise.
Strategy No. 1 Association became the largest shareholder after acquiring a stake in B2en this past April. The largest investor in Strategy No. 1 Association is Kim Yong-hwi, a former director at DHX. B2en plans to hold an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders on July 16 to appoint former director Kim Yong-hwi as an executive director.
During this extraordinary general meeting, B2en intends to add 26 new business items to its corporate objectives. Most of these are related to AI. However, they also include token-related ventures, such as: △Planning, issuance, issuance support, distribution support, management, operation, and platform development/operation for financial products based on blockchain assets, security tokens (STO), digital securities, bonds, convertible bonds, and real/intangible asset-based investment products △Tokenization of real/intangible assets such as real estate, movable property, intellectual property rights, accounts receivable, and art, as well as related brokerage, management, rights management, evaluation support, and information provision services △Planning, structuring, issuance support, platform operation, and consulting for fractional investment, alternative investment, and real asset-based investment products.
B2en has added various business objectives in the past as well. In March of this year, it added energy-related businesses, such as △production, storage, supply, sales, and trading of electricity △power generation, renewable energy power generation, and related ancillary businesses △development and distribution of electrical and electronic systems. It also added defense-related businesses such as "military supplies, government procurement, overseas procurement, offset trade, local production, joint development, and follow-up military logistical support."
Previously, in November 2023, it added △travel agency services △comprehensive exhibition halls, media art, and educational exhibition hall services for youth △loan business, and in March 2024, it added △pet-related businesses △restaurant businesses involving bakeries, grains, dairy products, processed meat, and agricultural products. In January 2025, it further added △physics, chemistry, and biological research and development △nuclear and atomic physics research and development △nuclear engineering research and development.
It appears that the frequent turnover in management has influenced B2en's addition of such diverse business objectives. The company was founded by Cho Gwang-won in 2004. Later, 'B2en Acquisition Purpose No. 2' acquired a stake in 2023 and became the largest shareholder before selling it to the Ssangbangwool Group in 2024. Subsequently, Strategy No. 1 Association acquired B2en this past April. As the management changed, the business direction also shifted.
B2en has shown no particular movement regarding previously added objectives such as the travel or power businesses. It is reported that there are no concrete implementation plans for these. However, the recently added token-related businesses are considered highly likely to develop into actual operations because they require AI-related technologies. Furthermore, B2en has a keen interest in digital assets, having established a strategic partnership with 'Binance Pay,' the payment system of the global digital asset platform Binance, in February this year.
A B2en official explained, "The new management team added these (business objectives) with the intention of pursuing distribution businesses in addition to our existing core operations. (The previously added objectives) were areas that the management team at the time wanted to pursue, but the project has been halted because all those executives have since resigned."
Although B2en has been recognized for its expertise in the IT industry, it was not widely known to the public until it performed server management services for the NEC from 2018 to June 2023. Some members of the People Power Party raised voices of suspicion regarding collusion with the Democratic Party, citing B2en's status as a subsidiary of the Ssangbangwool Group. Some even attempted to link B2en to allegations of election rigging.
Lee Soo-jung, the People Power Party’s chairman for Suwon-jeong, claimed on social media in December 2024 that, "The company managing the servers of the NEC, the core of democratic politics, was a very small SME." She added, "One might ask if I am ignoring them because they are an SME, but the parent company of that SME is Ssangbangwool, led by former Chairman Kim Sung-tae, who provided funds for Lee Jae-myung’s illegal remittances to North Korea."
Lee Soo-jung's claims did not gain much traction and the post was deleted shortly thereafter. Criticism followed, pointing out that her logic was flawed because B2en held the NEC contract before it was acquired by the Ssangbangwool Group. In April of this year, the Seoul Western District Court ordered Lee to pay 5 million won in damages to B2en. Lawyer Kang Shin-up, who raised similar allegations, was also ordered to pay 10 million won in damages to B2en.
While B2en was unfairly subjected to these allegations, they have now been cleared through judicial rulings. Recently, B2en has been making its presence felt by signing memoranda of understanding (MOU) with numerous IT companies. Industry attention is now focused on whether B2en can achieve results in these new business areas.