On December 21, according to Decenter news, the Bank of Korea has recently sent a formal document to major banks regarding the second round of CBDC testing. A Bank of Korea official stated that details including specific methods and timelines are currently being discussed.
The second round of testing is considering distributing part of the government subsidies in the form of digital currency. The purpose is to use CBDC to restrict the use of subsidies and reduce the management and administrative costs associated with the distribution of subsidies. The Bank of Korea previously launched a three-month CBDC pilot project in April, with a total of seven participating banks, but subsequently suspended the project. At that time, the pilot project was criticized for its limited practical application value and the burden of costs amounting to billions of Korean won on participating banks.
