The Korea Herald

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Dunamu donates W1b to Ukraine

By Byun Hye-jin

Published : March 22, 2022 - 15:56

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Dunamu CEO Sirgoo Lee (left) and Tim Hunter, director for private sector partnerships and fundraising at the United Nations World Food Program, pose while holding donation certificates at the company’s headquarters on Monday. (Dunamu) Dunamu CEO Sirgoo Lee (left) and Tim Hunter, director for private sector partnerships and fundraising at the United Nations World Food Program, pose while holding donation certificates at the company’s headquarters on Monday. (Dunamu)

Dunamu, the operator of Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, said Tuesday it has donated 1 billion won ($820,000) to the United Nations World Food Program in a bid to provide food aid for war-torn Ukraine.

According to Dunamu, it is the first Korean company to donate to WFP’s emergency assistance program that gives local food and food vouchers to civilians affected by the conflict in Ukraine.

The donated funds will provide one day’s worth of food for over 1.6 million refugees, the company said.

“We heard WFP was ramping up its emergency operation in Ukraine and thought it might need an extra pair of hands,” Dunamu CEO Sirgoo Lee said in a statement, citing that WFP is capable of providing the world’s largest humanitarian aid to those in need.

WFP is currently raising $590 million worldwide to support 3.15 million civilians in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, 902 Upbit users recently donated 160 million won of bitcoin and ethereum to the Ukrainian government. The firm plans to return the transaction charges to the donors and award them donation certificates in the form of nonfungible tokens by the end of this month.