Sources: Bank of Korea plans to resume CBDC testing

Foresight News reported, citing Decenter and sources, that the Bank of Korea has recently sent an official document regarding the second round of CBDC testing to major banks. A Bank of Korea official stated, "Details, including specific methods and scheduling, are currently under discussion."

The second round of testing is considering distributing part of government subsidies in the form of digital currency. The goal is to use CBDC to restrict the usage of subsidies and reduce the management and administrative costs associated with subsidy distribution. The Bank of Korea previously launched a three-month CBDC pilot project in April, with participation from seven banks, but later suspended the project. At the time, the pilot was criticized for its limited practical value and for imposing costs of several billions of Korean won on participating banks.