In his inaugural address, Bank of Korea Governor Shin Hyun-song emphasized the importance of central bank-issued digital currencies and bank-issued deposit tokens, without mentioning stablecoins, as South Korea considers new cryptocurrency regulations. Shin, who started his term, referenced the bank's ongoing retail CBDC pilot, Project Hangang, and its participation in the cross-border tokenization initiative, Project Agorá, led by the Bank for International Settlements. He views 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 topic in Seoul's policy discussions, including the proposed Digital Asset Basic Act.
Previously, Shin suggested that stablecoins could coexist with CBDCs and deposit tokens in a complementary and competitive manner. His speech outlined a bank-led model where the central bank issues a CBDC and commercial banks provide fully convertible deposit tokens. Additionally, Shin announced plans to increase scrutiny of crypto markets and non-bank finance, expand monitoring of cryptocurrencies, and improve access to data for tracking financial risks.
He also pledged to modernize currency markets, including introducing 24-hour foreign exchange trading and an offshore won settlement system.