South Korea is set to launch a groundbreaking project involving digital currency as part of its efforts to modernize its financial infrastructure. Starting in the fourth quarter of 2024, the country will initiate a pilot program with the participation of 100,000 citizens, marking a significant step towards the nationwide implementation of digital currencies.The pilot program, managed jointly by the Bank of Korea (BOK) and financial regulators, will allow selected participants to use deposit tokens based on the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC). These tokens, issued by commercial banks, will function similarly to vouchers in retail stores, enabling users to purchase goods. However, the digital currency can only be used for intended payment purposes, with personal remittance and other uses currently prohibited.In addition to the pilot program, the BOK and financial authorities plan to conduct technological experiments to evaluate new financial products. One such experiment involves integrating CBDC into a simulated system for carbon emissions trading, in collaboration with the Korea Exchange. This aims to test the feasibility of transactions between carbon emissions rights and payment tokens.The introduction of this digital currency, dubbed the “digital won,” is seen as a potential solution to the challenges faced by existing government voucher systems, including high transaction fees, slow settlement processes, limitations in post-transaction verification, and concerns about fraudulent claims. The BOK’s forward-thinking approach to future monetary systems has received favorable evaluation, and the successful simulated tests conducted in December 2021 position South Korea as a significant player in the global shift towards digital currencies.The pilot program is expected to take place in major cities like Jeju, Busan, and Incheon, paving the way for transformative impacts on everyday transactions and future financial innovations.

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Information	Details
Geography	Asia
Countries
Sentiment	positive
Relevance Score	1
People	Agustin Carstens, Rhee Chang-yong
Companies	Financial Supervisory Service, Financial Services Commission, Korea Exchange, Bank for International Settlements, Bank of Korea
Currencies	None
Securities	None