Dunamu Creates 8.2 Billion KRW in Social and Economic Value by Supporting Vulnerable Youth

Blockchain and fintech specialist company Dunamu (CEO Lee Seok-woo) announced the results of its hope fund for vulnerable youth, 'Dunamu Next Steppers' (hereafter referred to as Next Steppers).

On the 6th, a performance sharing session for Next Steppers was held at Community House Masil in Myeong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul. A total of 100 people, including young people who received economic support through Dunamu Next Steppers, economic mentors, and officials from related organizations, attended the event. Attendees reviewed the status of Next Steppers, which has been ongoing for about three years, including financial and asset formation support, roadmap mentoring, and financial education, and discussed future visions.

Next Steppers is a project that is part of Dunamu's ESG 'Youth' support initiative, aimed at alleviating the debt burden of low-income youth in welfare blind spots and helping them achieve economic independence. In collaboration with Together Making the World (Social Solidarity Bank) (Chairman Kim Yong-deok), it supports debt repayment for young people suffering from multiple debts and asset formation for vulnerable youth. From a long-term perspective, it strengthens their self-reliance capabilities and provides financial, employment, and career-related mentoring, as well as education on credit and debt management and fraud prevention, to help them draw a stable future roadmap.

Over the past three years, Dunamu has supported 1,000 vulnerable youth aged 19-34 through Next Steppers. It has assisted 636 financially distressed youth with 3.15 billion KRW in debt repayment and provided about 2.6 billion KRW in self-reliance funds to support 364 low-income youth. Additionally, it matched 86 professional mentors with 527 young people, conducting a total of 3,578 hours of mentoring.

According to a survey by the Korea Social Value Assessment (KSVA), the social and economic value created by Next Steppers over three years amounts to 8.2 billion KRW. This figure is calculated considering debt reduction, self-reliance fund formation, interest burden reduction, credit status improvement, and social ripple effects.

A young person who received financial support through Next Steppers said, "It was hard to handle the fixed expenses that went out every month just by breathing, and I was always under pressure to repay loans," adding, "Not only has the financial burden decreased, but through mentoring, I have been able to reset my life goals and take care of myself."

Lee Seok-woo, CEO of Dunamu, said, "Next Steppers is about supporting young people to get back on their feet and cheering on their new next steps," adding, "The aim of Next Steppers aligns with Dunamu's management value of contributing to future generations through beneficial technology and empowering finance."

Dunamu, which operates Upbit, Securities Plus, and Securities Plus Unlisted, plans to focus more on creating social value through finance and technology next year to empower the youth who will be Korea's future, through initiatives like Dunamu Next Series. Dunamu Next Series is Dunamu's ESG initiative supporting credit recovery and economic independence for vulnerable youth, including Dunamu Next Steppers, Next Dream, and Next Job.