The nominee to lead the Bank of Korea, Shin Hyun-song, has outlined his vision for South Korea's digital currency system, emphasizing the importance of central bank digital currencies and bank-issued deposit tokens, with stablecoins playing a secondary role. In his written remarks, Shin expressed support for introducing a won-based stablecoin, but stressed that trust in the currency must come first. He views stablecoins as useful for trading tokenized assets and enabling programmable payments, rather than as a replacement for state-backed money. Shin's proposal aligns with the central bank's existing position that stablecoin issuance should begin with regulated banks, citing compliance demands such as anti-money laundering and customer checks.
He also raised concerns about the efficiency of blockchain-based coins in foreign exchange and the regulatory compliance risks. Shin noted that digital assets fall short of fulfilling the core roles of money as a unit of account, medium of exchange, and store of value. His remarks come as policymakers debate the future of the market, with regulators pushing for bank-led models and lawmakers proposing broader frameworks that would allow non-bank issuers under new legislation.