Song Chi-hyung
South Korean entrepreneur (born 1979)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Song Chi-hyung (Korean: 송치형; born September 1979) is a South Korean entrepreneur. The founder and chairman of the financial technology company Dunamu, which operates Upbit, Forbes estimates his net worth at US$1 billion as of July 2025.[1]
Song Chi-hyung | |
|---|---|
송치형 | |
| Born | September 1979 (age 46) Gongju, South Chungcheong Province, South Korea |
| Education | |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Employer | Dunamu |
Early life and education
Song was born in September 1979 in Gongju, South Korea.[2] He attended the Chungnam Science High School. Song attended Seoul National University in 1998, obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in computer science and economics.[3]
Career
After working at Danal, a mobile payment company, Song joined the consulting firm Innomove in 2011 and later established Dunamu in 2012.[4]
Dunamu initially developed an e-book platform and a news aggregation service called Newsmate.[2] Upbit, Dunamu's cryptocurrency exchange platform, was launched in 2017.[5] In 2017, Song stepped down from the role of CEO to become chairman.[6]
Forbes estimated his cryptocurrency wealth in 2018 to be between $350 and $500 million.[7] Song publicly stated that his holdings were worth less than 1 million Korean won (approximately $800 USD at the time).[8]
In 2018, Song and two other Upbit executives were accused of inflating trading volume and embezzling 150 billion won in rigged Bitcoin transactions. Upbit denied wrongdoing.[9] In 2023, the Supreme Court of Korea ultimately found Song not guilty.[10]
In 2021, Hybe Corporation acquired a 2.5% stake in Dunamu in a deal that valued Dunamu at $17 billion.[11]