Naver Corp., the company that essentially runs South Korea’s internet, is preparing to buy back approximately 1 trillion won (roughly $745 million) in treasury stock. For context, that’s more than double the size of its 2024 buyback program, and it sends a pretty clear signal about how management views its own valuation right now.
The move matters beyond traditional equity markets because Naver is simultaneously engineering one of the most ambitious fintech pivots in Asian tech history, one that runs directly through the heart of crypto infrastructure.
A pattern of aggressive buybacks
This isn’t Naver’s first time reaching for the share repurchase lever. In 2024, the company planned to buy back and cancel shares worth 400 billion won, roughly $306 million. The year before that, Naver executed a buyback of 1.64 million shares valued at approximately 305.3 billion won.
Naver’s CEO has apparently been putting personal money where the corporate strategy is, purchasing 700 million won worth of shares. When the person running the company is buying stock with their own paycheck, it tends to get investors’ attention.
The Dunamu connection is where it gets interesting for crypto
Here’s the thing. Naver isn’t just a search engine company doing financial engineering. Its subsidiary, Naver Financial, has merger plans with Dunamu, the operator of Upbit, South Korea’s dominant cryptocurrency exchange.
That deal is structured as an all-stock integration with a transaction value of about 15.1 trillion won, or roughly $10 billion. The stock-swap ratio sits at approximately 1:2.54. It was initially expected to close by 2025, but regulatory complications have pushed the completion deadline to December 31, 2026.
The regulatory delays are worth watching. South Korea has been tightening its grip on crypto regulation, and a deal of this magnitude inevitably attracts scrutiny. The extended timeline suggests regulators are taking their time working through the implications of a major tech conglomerate absorbing one of the country’s largest crypto platforms.
Stablecoins, AI, and the Web3 play
Beyond the Dunamu merger itself, Naver Financial has been building out stablecoin development capabilities. The company is also exploring synergies between AI and Web3 infrastructure, leveraging its partnership with Dunamu to push into digital finance innovation.