Overview
- Project Hangang expands to nine lenders as Kyongnam Bank and iM Bank join the original seven for large-scale, real-world trials.
- Banks are testing won‑pegged deposit tokens built on a wholesale CBDC layer to support merchant payments and nationwide transfers.
- Phase 2 enables peer‑to‑peer wallet transfers after earlier pilots struggled with that functionality.
- Officials say the effort targets sharply lower payment costs for large companies and small merchants burdened by credit card fees.
- Authorities are targeting the first half of 2026 to begin disbursing some subsidies in digital currency, including EV charging support, while broader crypto rules remain delayed over stablecoin issuance authority and the BOK explores uses such as payments by AI agents.