Naver CEO warns neither company can survive global tech competition alone, urging scale through AI-blockchain integration
South Korea’s top internet platform Naver and crypto heavyweight Dunamu have pledged to invest a combined 10 trillion won ($6.8 billion) over the next five years, laying out expansion plans and global ambitions ahead of their planned merger.
The announcement came at a joint press briefing Thursday, a day after the boards of Naver Financial and Dunamu approved a share-swap deal that will place the crypto operator under Naver Financial’s full ownership.
The event, held at Naver’s Pangyo headquarters, brought together a rare lineup of senior executives, including Naver founder Lee Hae-jin, Dunamu Chair Song Chi-hyung, Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon, Dunamu CEO Oh Kyoung-seok and Naver Financial CEO Park Sang-jin.
“We are at an inflection point where mass adoption of blockchain and rapid advances in generative artificial intelligence are unfolding at the same time,” Choi said. “Our goal is to fuse AI and blockchain to create new types of financial transactions and to build an independent, blockchain-based global network.”
Oh said the digital assets market is undergoing “rapid, structural change,” making collaboration essential for global expansion.
“As global stablecoins, AI and blockchain advance, the lines that once separated digital assets, payment tools and traditional financial services are collapsing, ushering in full-scale convergence and a clear market paradigm shift,” he said. “This is a pivotal moment for global fintech firms, and we need to move fast and strategically to seize it.”
With the deal bringing together leading players in blockchain, internet services and digital finance, the consolidation is expected to reshape Korea’s digital finance landscape.
“We believe the current capacities of Naver and Dunamu alone are not enough to survive long-term in global technology competition,” Choi said. “That's why we aim to build a larger ecosystem together. Over the next five years, we will invest more than 10 trillion won to cultivate talent in AI, blockchain and labs, build a more secure and resilient infrastructure and support promising startups.”
Choi added that early investments will focus on strengthening Korea’s AI and blockchain infrastructure, including graphics processing units, as well as securing and nurturing talent.
With Dunamu operating Upbit, the world’s fourth-largest and Korea’s top crypto exchange, and Naver and Naver Financial running the country’s largest portal and a payments platform used by 34 million people with more than 80 trillion won in annual transactions, the merged group is expected to gain a meaningful edge over fintech and banking rivals in tech-driven finance.
Partnerships among financial firms have accelerated this year as companies integrate blockchain and generative AI into services and pursue opportunities in new fields, such as won-pegged stablecoins. Dunamu and Naver Financial also began with a stablecoin partnership, which eventually developed into a full acquisition.
The firms said any shift in governance remains to be decided.
Lee also pushed back on talk that Song, Dunamu’s founder, could take the helm of the combined entity. “Song is a remarkable talent who can contribute greatly to Naver and the industry ... but we are not at the point of discussing any shift in leadership.”
Wednesday’s filings showed the share-swap ratio was set at 1 to 2.54, meaning one Dunamu share will convert into 2.54 Naver Financial shares. With Naver Financial valued at about 5 trillion won and Dunamu at roughly 15 trillion won, the merger will create a fintech platform worth an estimated 20 trillion won. Song will become the largest shareholder of the combined Naver Financial with a 19.5 percent stake, while Naver will fall to 17 percent.
A series of stringent regulatory approvals still lie ahead, with financial regulators and the Fair Trade Commission set to review changes in major shareholders, the securities registration filing, the merger review and a change-of-business report for virtual asset service providers.
Plans for a listing also remain undecided, Choi said. With Dunamu long rumored to be considering a market debut, potentially on Nasdaq in the US, the possibility of a postmerger listing for Naver Financial has raised concerns about dual listing and shareholder value erosion.
“This deal is not about taking Naver Financial public. It is about partnering with a company of greater enterprise value to strengthen global expansion and improve access to capital markets,” she said.
jwc@heraldcorp.com
