Dunamu Partners With Seoul SMBA, SEMAS on Traditional Market Digital Innovation

Dunamu, operator of digital asset exchange Upbit, said on Aug. 24 that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Seoul Regional Office of SMEs and Startups and the Seoul Regional Headquarters of the Small Enterprise and Market Service (SEMAS) to strengthen the competitiveness of traditional markets and small businesses in Seoul.

The MOU signing ceremony was held at 11 a.m. on Aug. 24 at the Seoul Regional Office of SMEs and Startups in the Government Complex-Gwacheon. Dunamu CEO Oh Kyung-seok, Seoul Regional Office of SMEs and Startups Administrator Kim Woo-soon, and SEMAS Seoul Regional Headquarters Director Cho Yong-min attended the event along with other officials to discuss ways to revitalize traditional markets.

Under the agreement, the three organizations plan to establish a public-private partnership and leverage Dunamu's digital, artificial intelligence (AI), and blockchain technology infrastructure to strengthen the competitiveness of traditional markets and small businesses in Seoul.

As a first step, the organizations plan to jointly hold a “Traditional Market Digital Innovation Idea Contest” for undergraduate and graduate students. Detailed application guidelines and the schedule will be announced separately at the end of this month.

“The agreement and competition will lay the groundwork for creative ideas from young people and public-private cooperation to drive change in traditional markets,” Cho said. “We will identify ideas that can be put into practice based on feedback from the field and work to deliver tangible improvements for traditional markets and small businesses.”

“As digital and AI technologies have become essential to business management, how effectively they are adopted and used can determine the competitiveness and ability of traditional markets and small businesses to sustain themselves,” Kim said. “Through this agreement, we will continue to develop support measures to help traditional markets and small businesses overcome difficulties in adopting these technologies.”