Came here to see if someone had my same idea. And on further reasearch i may have found out who this is.
He has a red bandanna on his arm with a red swirl on it, the same from all over Laurelin.
Not only that, but in BOTW there's a merchant named Chumin, he's from Laurelin, and he has many features similar to this guy. Dark hair, goatee on the chin, bandanna on the right arm, bare feet (upgraded to flip flops). turquoise vest.
I say this is Chumin, and the Zelda team actually took the time to expand the story on some of the merchants from BOTW.
I'm calling it now: they expanded Laurelin's lore from "A fragmented monument" quest to link it to the Zonai.
