South Korea’s new central bank chief has started his term by putting the Bank of Korea’s digital money agenda squarely behind central bank-led infrastructure.
In his inaugural speech in Seoul on Tuesday, Shin Hyun-song said the Bank of Korea would work to protect the stability of payment and settlement systems while promoting the use of the won in a more digital financial environment.
As part of that push, he said the bank would expand the use of central bank digital currency and deposit tokens through the second phase of Project Hangang. He also pointed to international cooperation through Project Agora as part of a broader effort to strengthen the won’s standing in global payments.
The emphasis was notable, and so was the omission. Shin’s speech highlighted CBDC, deposit tokens and payment system stability, but did not mention stablecoins. That stood out because stablecoins have been part of the wider Korean digital asset debate in recent weeks, including during Shin’s nomination process.
Reuters reported that Shin also framed his policy agenda around price stability and financial stability at a time of heightened uncertainty tied to Middle East tensions. In his remarks, he said oil-price pressures and wider market volatility required a cautious and flexible monetary policy approach.
The digital finance portion of the speech suggests the Bank of Korea is doubling down on a model centered on public and bank-issued rails rather than privately led token expansion. Project Hangang has already moved into a second phase aimed at broadening the use of CBDC-linked deposit tokens and expanding real-world payment tests with participating banks and merchants.
That gives Shin’s opening message a fairly clear direction. The Bank of Korea appears to want innovation, but on infrastructure it can supervise closely. In practical terms, that means more work on CBDC and deposit-token systems, more coordination with international initiatives, and, at least for now, less rhetorical space devoted to stablecoins.
