"Leading the Global Digital Business"... Naver Embraces Dunamu in Challenge for Future Industries (Update)

Dunamu Joins Naver Group, Securing New Growth Engines
Over 10 Trillion Won to Be Invested in Web3 and AI Ecosystems Over Five Years

Naver is expected to accelerate its entry into the global digital asset market after acquiring Dunamu, the operator of Upbit, the No. 1 virtual asset exchange in South Korea. With Naver already holding leadership in various sectors such as shopping, search, and content, there is growing anticipation over the potential synergy that could be created by combining digital currency with artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

Lee Hae-jin, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Naver News Agency

On the morning of November 27, Naver and Dunamu held a joint press conference at 'Naver 1784,' Naver's second headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, to announce the potential and global business direction of their integration plan. The event was attended by Lee Hae-jin, Chairman of Naver’s Board of Directors, Choi Soo-yeon, CEO of Naver, Park Sang-jin, CEO of Naver Financial, Song Chi-hyung, Chairman of Dunamu, and Oh Kyung-seok, CEO of Dunamu. The previous day, Naver Financial and Dunamu had resolved to merge their businesses through a comprehensive stock swap, bringing Dunamu under the Naver group.

At the press conference, the three companies declared their intention to join forces and target the global digital asset market by leveraging the synergy between blockchain and AI technologies. Their goal is to proactively respond to global technology trends, demonstrate the strength of K-Fintech, and expand into everyday life around the world by acquiring global users.

Chairman Lee stated, "Naver's AI capabilities must generate synergy with Web3 in order to lead the next-generation market. We must attempt new challenges and innovations that global companies have not yet undertaken if we are to survive in the competition with them."

Web3 refers to next-generation technology based on blockchain and decentralization, allowing users to own and control their data and assets. Blockchain enables secure transactions, and unlike platform-centric models, users can own and manage their data and content directly.

Chairman Song expressed his ambition, saying, "By combining the strengths of our three companies, we aim to design a next-generation financial infrastructure that merges AI and blockchain, and to establish a new global platform order that encompasses not only payments but also the entire financial sector and even lifestyle services."

Naver is a major portal and AI technology company, Naver Financial is the largest fintech platform in South Korea, and Dunamu is the operator of the digital asset exchange Upbit and a holder of blockchain technology. By pooling their capabilities, the three companies are embarking on a challenge to create a new paradigm for future industries that has not existed before. Their strategy is to introduce leading business models not only in finance but also in gaming, content, and other sectors, leveraging each company’s technology and user base.

CEO Choi also announced plans to lead the industry by supporting the activation of the domestic technology ecosystem. She emphasized that building and revitalizing the foundational ecosystem is essential for Korean companies to secure competitiveness, and revealed a plan to invest 10 trillion won over the next five years to foster the AI and Web3 ecosystem.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.