South Korea to Launch Digital Currency Pilot Program with 100,000 Citizens

According to CryptoPotato, South Korea is set to begin a pilot program involving digital currency in the fourth quarter of 2024, with 100,000 citizens participating. This marks a significant step towards the nationwide implementation of digital currencies. The pilot program is jointly managed by the Bank of Korea (BOK), the Financial Services Commission, and the Financial Supervisory Service. Under the pilot, selected participants can purchase goods using deposit tokens based on the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC). Recruitment for participants is expected to begin around September to October of the following year, with the project spanning three months. The pilot program will have some limitations, as participants can only use the digital currency for intended payment purposes, while personal remittance and other uses are currently prohibited. The BOK and financial authorities also plan to conduct technological experiments to evaluate new financial products. One experiment involves collaboration between the BOK and Korea Exchange, focusing on integrating CBDC into a simulated system for carbon emissions trading. This aims to test the feasibility of transactions between carbon emissions rights and payment tokens. The BOK highlighted that this digital currency has the potential to overcome challenges faced by existing government voucher systems, such as high transaction fees, slow settlement processes, limitations in post-transaction verification, and concerns about fraudulent claims.