BOK Nominee Shin Says CBDCs and Stablecoins Can Coexist as Rivals and Complements

Shin Hyun-song, South Korea's nominee for Bank of Korea governor, acknowledged a role for stablecoins in the digital-currency ecosystem and said they can coexist with central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs.

In a written reply submitted to lawmaker Park Sung-hoon of the National Assembly's Strategy and Finance Committee and cited by Hankyoreh on Aug. 6, Shin said stablecoins have positive functions, including serving as a means of transacting tokenized assets, and could play a role in the future monetary ecosystem. He also expressed broad support for introducing won-denominated stablecoins.

Shin stressed, however, that the central bank should remain at the core of the monetary system. Trust in money remains essential, he wrote, and CBDCs issued by the central bank, along with deposit tokens based on them, should anchor the digital-currency ecosystem. Stablecoins, meanwhile, could be used to settle tokenized assets such as virtual assets, creating both complementary and competitive dynamics.

He also reaffirmed the BOK's plans to build digital-currency infrastructure. The central bank will upgrade payment and settlement infrastructure to support innovation by banks and fintech firms and continue its pilot program, Project Hangang, Shin said. The project is focused on testing the use cases and commercial viability of deposit tokens, or bank deposits converted into blockchain-based digital assets.

At the same time, Shin highlighted the need to manage risks tied to the spread of digital finance. New risks could emerge as it becomes more closely linked to the traditional financial system, he wrote. Authorities will examine vulnerabilities and risks in advance and prepare policy responses, he added.