The nominee to lead the Bank of Korea, Shin Hyun-song, has expressed his support for a digital money system centered around a central bank digital currency and bank-issued deposit tokens, with stablecoins playing a supplementary role. He emphasized the importance of trust in the currency and highlighted the need for compliance with anti-money laundering and customer verification rules. Shin views stablecoins as useful for specific applications, such as tokenized assets and programmable payments, but not as a replacement for state-backed currency.
He also questioned the potential of blockchain-based coins to improve foreign exchange efficiency due to regulatory compliance uncertainty and added costs. The central bank has previously warned about the risks of privately issued tokens to monetary policy and financial stability, and has called for strict oversight measures.