Naver Financial, the fintech arm of South Korean internet company Naver, announced it will acquire Dunamu, the operator of South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, in an all-stock transaction valued at 15.13 trillion won, equal to about $10.3 billion.
Dunamu, NAVER, and NAVER Financial are moving forward with a major consolidation initiative after all three companies’ boards approved a comprehensive share-swap arrangement that will fold Dunamu into the NAVER group. The announcement was made at a joint press conference held at NAVER’s 1784 headquarters, where executives detailed a long-term strategy focused on global fintech competitiveness, AI innovation, and Web3 infrastructure.
The companies emphasized that the combination will allow the group to accelerate its position in AI, blockchain, digital finance, payments, and large-scale consumer platforms. Executives highlighted that the transaction positions the combined entity to compete more aggressively with global fintech leaders by integrating Upbit’s global digital asset trading scale with NAVER’s AI and search leadership and NAVER Financial’s payments and consumer finance footprint.
A significant component of the plan includes a commitment to invest KRW 10 trillion over the next five years to strengthen talent pipelines, develop secure and resilient infrastructure, and support startups in AI, blockchain, and other strategic technologies. Leaders from all three organizations said that ecosystem development would be vital to advancing Korea’s position in global technology markets.
Executives also noted that once the transaction closes, the companies will focus on building a shared, global-first operating culture. They stated that the near-term priority is to achieve synergies from the share swap, affiliate integration, and corporate convergence, while preparing for an aggressive global push in Web3 and digital finance. Leadership added that no further governance restructuring is planned in the immediate future as the combined group works to accelerate access to international markets and capital opportunities.
KEY QUOTES:
“This is a critical inflection point where new opportunities are opening. NAVER and Dunamu have joined forces around the idea of driving a new wave of innovation on the global stage.”
“It is important that we fully convey our shared vision to external stakeholders. Once the deal is completed, we will establish a culture that puts global expansion first and be thoroughly prepared to move aggressively into the global Web3 market, backed by a full lineup of users, data, technology, services and capital.”
Soo Yeon Choi, CEO, NAVER Corp.
“We aim to build a new global platform model that extends beyond payments and settlements to encompass the full spectrum of financial services and, ultimately, everyday lifestyle services.”
Chi-hyung Song, Chairman, Dunamu
“For NAVER to continue to lead the next wave of markets, our AI capabilities must be tightly integrated with Web3. To keep pace with global digital finance, Dunamu and NAVER Financial need faster decision-making and must take on ambitious initiatives that global peers have not yet tried.”
Hae-jin Lee, Founder and Global Investment Officer, NAVER
“By combining the capabilities, we intend to treat this global inflection point not as a risk but as an opportunity for a far greater leap forward.”
“Our immediate focus will be on maximizing synergies through the comprehensive share swap, affiliate integration and corporate convergence. Rather than additional changes to the governance structure, we will concentrate on advancing into global markets and expanding access to capital markets.”
Kyung-seok Oh, CEO, Dunamu
