South Korea Bank Nominee Backs CBDC and Deposit Tokens

Shin Hyunsong, the nominee to lead South Korea's central bank, outlined a vision for digital currencies centered on a central bank digital currency and bank-issued deposit tokens, while describing the current benchmark interest rate as near neutral, in written remarks submitted to parliament on April 14 ahead of his confirmation hearing.

The remarks, prepared for the National Assembly's Finance and Economy Committee, position a Bank of Korea-issued central bank digital currency, or CBDC, and deposit tokens from commercial banks as the foundation of the nation's digital money system. Shin emphasized that these should anchor trust and stability, with privately issued stablecoins serving a limited, supplementary role. "I expect that central bank digital currencies and deposit tokens will be able to coexist with stablecoins in a manner that is supplementary and competitive to each other," he stated, according to the Bank of Korea.

Shin supported the introduction of a won-denominated stablecoin but stressed that building public trust in the currency must take priority. He viewed stablecoins as tools for trading tokenized assets, such as real estate or bonds, and for programmable...