South Korea’s Path Towards a Central Bank Digital Currency: From Hesitation to Eager Exploration

Following the rise of cryptocurrencies in recent years, central banks around the world have been more seriously considering joining the world of digital finance as well. Questions over the benefits of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and how best to issue them have made for more deliberative discussions in some countries, while others have more quickly embraced this new means of exchange. Most notably, the People’s Bank of China is showcasing its digital yuan at the Olympics in the latest stage of the electronic currency’s pilot rollout. The U.S. Federal Reserve is still far from its own pilot launch, and while South Korea was similarly slow to explore a CBDC before COVID-19, since the pandemic started the Bank of Korea has made great strides to lay the foundations for a digital Korean won.

Please join KEI and political economist June Park for a conversation on the domestic and external factors driving the recent shift in South Korea’s thinking on issuing a digital currency, the possible implications of the upcoming presidential election, and recommendations for how the Bank of Korea should proceed with a potential CBDC launch.

Please click here to RSVP for in-person attendance. We will accommodate the first 20 respondents.