South Korea’s antitrust watchdog has launched a formal review into the proposed integration of Naver Financial and digital asset exchange Dunamu, raising potential competition concerns as dominant industry players join forces.

The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) recently delivered its preliminary review findings to both companies, signaling that a final verdict could arrive before the end of the month. A plenary session is slated for November 18 to deliberate the case.

Key Antitrust Focus Areas

The merger, structured as a comprehensive stock swap where Dunamu will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Naver Financial, spans 10 different sectors. These include major digital ecosystems such as online search, shopping, mobile payments, and crypto asset trading.

Notably, the review extends to the emerging South Korean won-backed stablecoin market—a pioneering move as the FTC examines competitive risks in a market that has not yet fully formed. Regulators are concerned that cross-service integrations, such as offering exclusive benefits for proprietary stablecoins within affiliated platforms, could unfairly disadvantage rival exchanges and fintech competitors.

Potential Remedies and Next Steps

While regulatory officials noted that horizontal overlaps in listed stock investment platforms and secondhand goods trading platforms pose minimal antitrust risks, overall combination factors still require strict oversight.

To address regulatory hurdles, the FTC suggested that remedies involving mandatory equal treatment for competitors and behavioral restrictions on operating practices could resolve the competitive bottlenecks. Final approval will depend on the adjustments submitted by the companies and the consensus reached by the independent commissioners during this month's upcoming review meetings.

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