“We are planning a new project and challenge that combines artificial intelligence (AI) and Web3, which does not exist anywhere in the world.”

On the 27th, at Naver 1784 in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Lee Hae-jin, founder and board chairman of Naver, attended a joint press conference of Naver, Naver Financial, and Dunamu and made this statement.

Following the resolution of the merger plan between Naver Financial and Dunamu by the three companies the previous day, Chairman Lee explained the background of the merger, stating, “To survive in the competition, we must make new attempts and challenges that global companies do not undertake,” and added, “We will consolidate the capabilities of both companies to preempt the future digital financial industry.”

● KRW 10 trillion investment in domestic AI and Web3 ecosystem over 5 years

On this day, Naver, Naver Financial, and Dunamu held a joint press conference to explain their global expansion plans after the merger. Once the merger is completed, a restructuring of the governance structure will occur, with Dunamu becoming a subsidiary of Naver Financial and a grandchild company of Naver. The merger will be conducted through a comprehensive stock exchange, with Dunamu's 1 share being exchanged for 2.54 shares of Naver Financial, considering the corporate value and number of shares of Naver Financial and Dunamu. The merger will be completed after a shareholders' meeting in May 2026 and the final stock exchange. Oh Kyung-seok, CEO of Dunamu, stated, “The three companies will maintain their leading positions in their respective fields and focus on combining their capabilities to integrate technology and seize global market opportunities.”

The three companies announced that strengthening the domestic ecosystem is essential before competing with global big tech and that they plan to invest KRW 10 trillion in creating an AI and Web3 (decentralized internet through blockchain technology) ecosystem over the next five years. Choi Soo-yeon, CEO of Naver, explained, “In a situation where global players with technological and service backgrounds are emerging, it is essential for domestic companies to activate the foundational ecosystem to gain competitiveness,” and added, “KRW 10 trillion is the minimum amount planned. We prioritized foundational investments such as graphics processing units (GPUs), which are the common foundation of AI and Web3, and will also boldly invest in talent development.” CEO Choi also stated that investments in startups and security infrastructure would not be spared.

● Market preemption with Naver's AI and Dunamu's Web3

The strategy is to target the global market by combining Naver, the largest internet company and AI enterprise in Korea, Naver Financial, which secures an annual payment volume of over KRW 80 trillion, and Dunamu, which possesses top-level blockchain technology in Korea. The industry anticipates that Naver's AI, payment, and content services will be enhanced by Dunamu's blockchain and security technologies. Song Chi-hyung, chairman of Dunamu, stated, “The three companies will join forces to design a next-generation financial infrastructure combining AI and blockchain,” and added, “We aim to create a new global platform order that encompasses not only payment but also the entire financial sector and even lifestyle services.”

The global business of Naver AI Agent is also expected to gain momentum. There is also the possibility of linking the 'Naver Commerce' ecosystem, including Poshmark in the U.S., Wallapop in Spain, and Naver Plus Store in Korea, with the stablecoin payment infrastructure. CEO Oh mentioned the plan to utilize the Korean won stablecoin, stating, “We are preparing the technical aspects in line with government policy directions.”

However, CEO Choi stated at the press conference that there is “nothing determined at the moment” regarding the possibility of Naver Financial's Nasdaq listing following the acquisition of Dunamu.

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