[2026 Parliamentary Audit] Shin Hyunsong: "Project Hangang Is Not a Retail CBDC... BOK Can't See Personal Information"

"A structure in which banks settle transactions with one another using the Bank of Korea's institutional digital currency"

Bank of Korea Governor Shin Hyunsong stressed that there are "no concerns about privacy violations" related to Project Hangang, the Bank of Korea's digital currency project.

Bank of Korea Governor Shin Hyun-song gives a work briefing during a parliamentary audit by the National Assembly’s Strategy and Finance Committee at the Bank of Korea in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 12th. Joint Press Corps, Yonhap News Agency.

In response to a question from Lee Junseok of the Reform Party about concerns over privacy violations related to Project Hangang (the Bank of Korea's institutional digital currency, which uses banks' deposit tokens), Shin said during a parliamentary audit by the National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee at the Bank of Korea in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 12th, "Banks, which do business with customers, manage all personal information, and the Bank of Korea does not have that information, as before." He explained that the system uses the Bank of Korea's ledger to settle transactions between banks.

Regarding the retail CBDC approach, which has prompted controversy over privacy violations, Shin said, "The Bank of Korea has not considered a retail CBDC since 2023." He explained, "Project Hangang, which is currently underway, is an effort to tokenize the existing two-tier monetary system as it is, centered on an institutional digital currency."

He also noted, "With regard to coins, existing exchanges have served as intermediaries, and accidents have occasionally occurred." However, he stressed, "Project Hangang has several safeguards in place. Even taking into account recent hacking incidents involving artificial intelligence (AI), I believe it has been operating quite securely and smoothly."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.