November 26, 2024

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Dunamu CEO Lee Sirgoo speaks at the Upbit D Conference at the Grand Walkerhill Seoul in eastern Seoul, on Nov. 13. (Dunamu)

Lee Sirgoo, CEO of Dunamu, the operator of Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, was officially tapped by board members to lead the fintech firm for another three-year term, it said on Wednesday.

Lee, who has been serving his second term at the company, was first named its chief in 2017. The appointment is to be finalized through approval at a shareholders meeting, set to take place on Dec. 5. If approved, Lee’s term will last until December 2026.

“I decided to assume the CEO role after seeing Dunamu’s global growth potential and the vision of cryptocurrency market and blockchain industry,” said Lee at the time of the initial appointment in 2017. “I will help drive growth for Dunaum to become a leader in the new financial innovation industry.”

Lee graduated from Seoul National University. Previously, he worked as a reporter at local daily JoongAng Ilbo, a corporate lawyer at IBM Korea and director at Naver, formerly NHN. From 2014 to 2015, Lee headed Kakao, the operator of Korea’s top messenger app. After leaving Kakao, he returned to JoongAng Ilbo and headed its digital operations, before joining Dunamu.

Lee is a key figure in the local digital asset scene. He has been serving as the chair of Digital Asset Exchange Alliance, known as DAXA, an alliance of leading crypto exchanges here. The joint consultative body was launched in June 2022 in a bid to improve the local crypto market.

By Im Eun-byel  (silverstar@heraldcorp.com)