Upbit parent Dunamu's share swap with NAVER may face holding company stake regulatory conflict

BlockBeats news, September 16, according to Yonhap News Agency, the share swap transaction between Dunamu, the parent company of Upbit, and a subsidiary of South Korean internet giant NAVER may face uncertainties. Data disclosed by the South Korean National Assembly Legislative Research Service shows that the related transaction may simultaneously face the minimum shareholding ratio for subsidiaries under the Fair Trade Act and the maximum shareholding limit for major shareholders of virtual asset trading platforms. Currently, NAVER Pay does not appear to be a holding company, but if it becomes a holding company in the future and includes the trading platform as a subsidiary, two opposing shareholding standards may apply simultaneously, necessitating adjustments to the governance structure.

South Korea's Fair Trade Act stipulates that a holding company's shareholding ratio in a listed subsidiary shall not be less than 30%, and in an unlisted subsidiary shall not be less than 50%; for venture capital holding companies, it is 20%. In addition, the second phase of discussions on South Korea's virtual asset legislation also involves setting an upper limit on the shareholding of major shareholders of trading platforms to reduce the risk of concentration of control by specific shareholders and conflicts of interest.