Experiment Does Not Mean Any Imminent CBDC Issuance
The Bank of Korea is planning to conduct a central bank digital currency (CBDC) experiment from August this year to June next year. A budget of up to 4.96 billion won is scheduled to be invested in the project. The central bank is going to sign a contract with an agent to be in charge of the experiment in July this year.
The experiment is divided into two phases. In the first, an experiment environment will be prepared and the basic functions of its digital currency will be tested. The second will cover functional expansion and personal information protection.
The central bank stressed that the experiment does not mean any imminent CBDC issuance. “The purposes of the experiment never include issuance and the necessity of such issuance is zero as of now,” it said, adding, “The experiment is based on the possibility that a CBDC may be used as a safe asset and means of payment when the use of cash has decreased to a certain extent.”