Bank of Korea adds two banks to digital won trials as real-world testing begins

The Bank of Korea (BOK) has begun the second phase of its digital won pilot program, Project Hangang, incorporating two additional banks – Kyongnam Bank and iM Bank – bringing the total number of participating lenders to nine. This phase focuses on real-world testing of bank-issued deposit tokens backed by central bank infrastructure, aiming to facilitate government subsidy payments and peer-to-peer transfers nationwide. A key objective is to reduce transaction costs for businesses burdened by credit card processing fees. The BOK plans to disburse subsidies in digital currency starting in the first half of the year, with electric vehicle charging subsidies as a potential initial use case, and also intends to integrate digital currency payments with AI agents. This development occurs amidst delays in the implementation of South Korea’s Digital Asset Basic Act (DABA) due to regulatory disagreements regarding stablecoin issuance.

(Source：CoinDesk)