Status
PILOT
South Korea
South Korea Digital Won
According to Bank of Korea disclosures and linked sources, this profile records status, architecture, and capability fields for South Korea Digital Won.
Program Snapshot
Current status fields and timeline data from the profile record.
Type
RETAIL
Program classification
Wallets
80,000
As of 2025-06-30
Annual Volume
Not listed
medium confidence
Status and Timeline
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Announced | Not listed |
| Pilot start | Not listed |
| Launch | Not listed |
| Last verified | 2026-04-22 |
Availability
- Retail
- pilot
- Wholesale
- pilot
Central Bank
Bank of Korea
Technical Profile
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Type | Retail |
| Architecture | two-tier |
| Access model | account based |
| Technology base | dlt |
| Legal tender | pilot only |
Capabilities
offline payments: Yes
programmability: Yes
cross border: No
interest bearing: No
transaction limits: Yes
Cross-Border Projects
No cross-border project entries are listed for this profile.
Recent Updates
Phase 1 of Project Hangang ran April 1 to June 30, 2025, with 100,000 planned participants. Approximately 80,000 of 100,000 invited users opened wallets, with total volume below ₩700 million despite ₩30-35 billion infrastructure spend. Deposit tokens were used for real purchases at 7-Eleven and Ediya Coffee. Phase 2 launched March 18, 2026 with nine banks: KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, Hana, NH Nonghyup, IBK Industrial, BNK Busan (original seven) plus Kyongnam Bank and iM Bank. Phase 2 tests large-scale won-pegged deposit tokens on a wholesale CBDC layer for two use cases: government subsidy distribution (starting with EV charging subsidies) and nationwide consumer payments. New features include biometric approvals, P2P wallet transfers, and automatic top-ups. BOK describes the digital won as an 'intermediate stage between a CBDC and stablecoins.' Large-scale real transactions with all nine banks planned for H2 2026.
Updated: Apr 22, 2026
Reference Answers
Is South Korea's digital won already a nationwide public CBDC?
high confidenceAs of 2026-04-21No. The Bank of Korea's Project Hangang is a controlled live pilot, not a nationwide public CBDC launch.
The official English Project Hangang paper describes a live pilot of a unified ledger that integrates wholesale CBDCs and tokenized deposits. That wording matters: it confirms real pilot activity and supports the registry's pilot status, but it still falls short of evidence that the digital won is generally available nationwide to the public as a completed rollout.
- The Bank of Korea describes Project Hangang as a live pilot.
- The pilot combines wholesale CBDC infrastructure and tokenized deposits.
- A live pilot should not be described as a nationwide public launch.
Citations
- Project Hangang: Live Pilot of a Unified Ledger Integrating Wholesale CBDCs and Tokenized Depositscentral bank · T12025-12-18
Open Questions
- Refresh this answer when the Bank of Korea publishes the next official expansion or completion milestone for Project Hangang.
Caveats
- The official pilot design includes tokenized deposits, so the programme should not be summarized too loosely as a simple retail launch.
Related CBDCs
Sources
Sources
Last verified: 2026-04-22
Bank of Korea
central bank
CBDC in Korea: Concept and progress - BIS Papers by Joonsuk Bae (BOK)
research
CBDC and the future of payments - BIS Papers
research
South Korea planning to revive paused CBDC programme - Central Banking
news
Bank of Korea kicks off real-world testing of its CBDC with nine banks - CoinDesk
news