South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission has asked Naver Financial and Dunamu to submit additional materials for its review of their business combination. The industry views this as a sign the extended review process is getting under way in earnest.

Industry sources said on March 17 that the FTC began its review after receiving the companies’ filing on Nov. 28 last year. The basic review period is 30 days from the date of receipt, and it can be extended by up to 90 days if needed. The basic review period expired on Dec. 28 last year, and the maximum statutory deadline, including the extended review, is estimated to be March 28 this month.

However, time taken by companies to correct or supplement submitted materials is excluded from the review period. If such a correction period is added due to the latest request for additional materials, the final conclusion is expected to be reached as early as May and no later than within the first half of the year.

The key issues in the merger review are market dominance and whether it would create a monopoly. Naver Financial ranks first in domestic 간편결제 services, while Dunamu is the operator of Upbit, the country’s largest virtual asset exchange, and each holds a leading position in its field. The FTC is said to be closely examining the impact on the market after the combination.

Still, the prevailing view is that the possibility of the FTC blocking the merger itself is low. The FTC said in a presidential work report in December last year that it would strictly regulate anti-competitive conduct in innovative industries such as big tech and virtual asset platforms while actively supporting innovation-driven growth. This has prompted observations that the need to strengthen the competitiveness of domestic platforms in the global digital asset market could be reflected in the direction of the review.

Naver Financial and Dunamu are reported to have decided to respond swiftly to the FTC’s request for additional materials. This step is intended to resolve merger-related uncertainty early and aligns with a strategy to secure the initiative in next-generation digital asset markets such as tokenized securities and stablecoins.

Meanwhile, the legislative schedule for the Digital Asset Basic Act, cited as an external variable for the merger, remains unclear. A ruling party-government consultative meeting on stablecoins had been scheduled for March 5 but was postponed due to financial market instability stemming from the Middle East, and no new date has been set.

Naver Financial and Dunamu each approved plans through their boards in November last year to bring Dunamu under Naver Financial as a subsidiary, and under Naver as a second-tier subsidiary, via a comprehensive stock exchange.