This story is part of Forbes’ coverage of Korea’s Richest 2026. See the full list here.

The cofounders of Dunamu, operator of Upbit, South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by daily trading volume, got a boost to their wealth after striking a landmark deal with search engine giant Naver, cofounded by billionaire Lee Hae-jin. In November, the company’s payments arm, Naver Financial, agreed to acquire Dunamu in a stock swap that values the combined entity at $13.6 billion. Dunamu’s cofounder and chairman, Song Chi-hyung, who will have a 19% stake in the merged company, regained his status as a billionaire with a net worth of $2.3 billion. The transaction, which is scheduled to be completed in June, also returned cofounder and vice chairman Kim Hyoung-nyon to the ranks of Korea’s richest after a three-year gap with a $1.2 billion fortune derived from his 10% stake in the new entity.

Dunamu’s valuation, which hit a peak of $17 billion during the crypto boom of 2021, when K-pop behemoth Hybe bought a 2.5% stake in the company, nosedived in the ensuing market crash triggered by the bankruptcy of FTX. Investor confidence in the business has since rebounded amid regulatory easing. The merger is poised to create a domestic fintech juggernaut offering a slew of financial services from payments and insurance to crypto and securities trading.

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