Lee Yeon-woo is a financial journalist at The Korea Times. Her wide range of reporting includes policies, macroeconomics, stock market, companies and even crypto. She is passionate about connecting the dots in Korean finance and making it easier for foreign nationals to understand. Based on her previous experience as a national reporter, she also has a keen interest in social issues within the sector, including gender equality and ESG. Your tips and insights are always appreciated. You can send them to yanu@koreatimes.co.kr.
Mirae Asset completes Korbit acquisition, becomes 1st financial group to control crypto exchange
Headquarters of Mirae Asset Group in Seoul / Courtesy of Mirae Asset Group
By Lee Yeon-woo
Mirae Asset Financial Group is set to take near-complete control of domestic cryptocurrency exchange Korbit as its affiliate Mirae Asset Consulting acquired a 91.73 percent stake on Wednesday and plans to buy the remaining 5.42 percent on Friday, bringing its ownership to 97.15 percent, company officials said Thursday.
The additional share purchase will increase Mirae Asset's holdings in Korbit from about 26.9 million shares to some 28.5 million shares, while its cumulative investment in the cryptocurrency exchange will rise from 133.5 billion won ($91 million) to 141.4 billion won.
The acquisition came as Mirae Asset Consulting completed the required regulatory filing procedures on July 9. The Fair Trade Commission determined that the acquisition was unlikely to significantly restrict competition in the market, given Korbit's 0.5 percent share of Korea's cryptocurrency trading market in 2025.
The deal marks the first time an affiliate of a financial group has acquired control of a domestic cryptocurrency exchange.
As part of its mid- to long-term strategy, Mirae Asset Financial Group aims to use Korbit to develop a global investment platform encompassing both traditional financial assets and digital assets.
Korbit said it plans to continue providing its existing services unchanged. The exchange said users’ deposits and virtual assets would continue to be held and managed separately from its own assets. It added that Korbit would remain responsible for processing personal information and that there would be no changes to the purposes for which such information is processed or the scope of its use.
“Building on Mirae Asset Group’s stability and financial expertise, we will further strengthen user protection and service competitiveness and continue to grow as a trusted digital asset platform,” Korbit said in a statement.