In his inaugural address, Bank of Korea Governor Shin Hyun-song highlighted the importance of central bank digital currencies and bank-issued tokens, without mentioning stablecoins, as the country considers new cryptocurrency regulations. Shin, who started his term, referenced the bank's ongoing retail CBDC pilot, Project Hangang, and its participation in Project Agorá, a cross-border tokenization initiative.
He positioned digital currency as part of a larger central banking shift amidst economic challenges and slower growth. Notably, stablecoins were absent from his remarks, despite being a key issue in Seoul's policy debates, with lawmakers discussing the Digital Asset Basic Act. Shin previously stated that stablecoins could coexist with CBDCs and deposit tokens in a complementary manner.
He outlined a model where the central bank issues a CBDC, and commercial banks provide fully convertible deposit tokens. The governor also announced plans to increase scrutiny of crypto markets and non-bank finance, expand monitoring of cryptocurrencies, and enhance access to data for tracking financial risks.
Furthermore, he pledged to modernize currency markets, including introducing 24-hour foreign exchange trading and an offshore won settlement system.