Lee Hae-jin: 'No Survival Without M&A' — Naver, Dunamu Unveil 5-Year, KRW 10 Trillion Future Investment

Naver, Naver Financial, and Dunamu, three companies, held a joint press conference on the 27th and announced their vision for building next-generation global financial infrastructure combining artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technology. The three companies presented a blueprint to invest 10 trillion won over the next five years to secure a dominant position in the global Web3 market and create a new platform encompassing not only payments but also overall finance and lifestyle services. Choi Soo-yeon, CEO of Naver, stated that this corporate merger was pursued because the current moment, where the popularization of blockchain coincides with the advent of the 'agentic AI' era, is seen as a 'new opportunity.' Song Chi-hyung, Chairman of Dunamu, emphasized innovation by citing examples of rapid growth in global digital asset markets like Coinbase and the low fees of blockchain-based remittances (citing African cases). Chairman Song stressed that "Coinbase's market capitalization is still around 100 trillion won," asserting that now is the opportune time to secure global competitiveness. Kim Hyung-nyeon, Vice Chairman of Dunamu, explained that user authentication and payment functions are essential in the agentic AI era where AI judges and acts independently, and that blockchain-based financial infrastructure with low costs, fast settlements, and high scalability is the optimal solution. He emphasized that "the tokenization of most assets, where they are circulated on the blockchain, will spread," and that Korea should lead the borderless digital asset market. Oh Kyung-seok, CEO of Dunamu, explained that the companies are combining through a comprehensive stock swap method, where Dunamu will be incorporated as a 100% subsidiary of Naver Financial, stating that this is an efficient structure for securing global competitiveness. The three companies aim to expand into global markets and increase access to capital markets, focusing on maximizing synergy. Lee Hae-jin, Chairman of Naver, expressed his urgency, stating, "If we don't do M&A, the company could fail," and emphasized, "From a global perspective, Naver is a small company, and it must survive through new attempts and challenges." He conveyed the will to combine Naver's AI capabilities with Dunamu's Web3 technology to gain a leading position in the future digital finance industry. With this merger, Dunamu's blockchain technology will be added to Naver Financial's 34 million users and annual 80 trillion won payment infrastructure, promising innovative financial services such as reduced overseas remittance fees and AI-based automatic payments. However, regulatory approval from financial authorities and legal review are essential, and it is expected to take time until actual launch. CEO Oh Kyung-seok expressed his ambition, stating that 'K-Fintech,' like K-Semiconductor and K-Content, has a high potential for global success, and that they will "build 'Team Korea' to respond to global changes."