According to Golden Finance, The Korea Times, citing sources, reported that a large-scale pilot program involving 100,000 people will be launched later this year to tokenize deposits. The newspaper said the deposit tokens will "be similar to using vouchers," consistent with previously announced plans.

A year ago, the Bank of Korea announced plans to issue a wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC) to support interbank settlements for banks’ tokenized deposits. The pilot program, involving up to 100,000 participants, will begin in September or October this year. In June, two government agencies announced funding for a voucher project being developed by the central bank, where deposit tokens could be used for welfare, culture, education, and other services. However, today's report indicates that the vouchers in the pilot will be used to buy goods at convenience stores.