Yesterday the Korean Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) announced an investment project to promote the domestic blockchain industry. It is committing Won 20 billion ($14.5m) across 14 projects. One of the larger public sector projects relates to central bank digital currency (CBDC) and digital vouchers.
That initiative was amongst just three projects awarded a budget of Won 3 billion ($2.2m). Last year the Bank of Korea unveiled a wholesale CBDC project to support tokenized deposits. The bank tokens will likely be the focus, with the CBDC used purely for interbank settlement.
The central bank is developing a voucher program for use on smartphones, which can be used for welfare, culture, education and other services. Today most vouchers are based on paper or plastic cards. They are also prone to fraud. Using a digital application aims to address fraud and make the settlement process far easier.
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