In his inaugural address, Bank of Korea Governor Shin Hyun-song highlighted the importance of central bank digital currencies and bank-issued tokens, while notably omitting any reference to stablecoins amidst ongoing discussions on new cryptocurrency regulations in South Korea. Shin, who assumed his four-year term, emphasized the bank's retail CBDC pilot project and its participation in a global tokenization initiative. He positioned digital currencies as a key aspect of central banking evolution during a period of economic challenges and sluggish growth. The absence of stablecoins from his speech was conspicuous, given the intense policy debates surrounding their regulation.
Shin previously suggested that stablecoins could complement CBDCs and deposit tokens, but his current focus is on a bank-led model where the central bank issues a CBDC and commercial banks provide fully convertible deposit tokens. Additionally, he announced plans to enhance monitoring of crypto markets, expand data access to track financial risks, and modernize currency markets, including the introduction of 24-hour foreign exchange trading.