SEOUL, April 14 (Reuters) – The nominee to become the Bank of Korea’s governor agreed to introduce won-denominated stablecoins, saying they would play a role in the currency ecosystem of the future, according to written remarks that were submitted on Monday to parliament.
“I expect that central bank digital currencies and deposit tokens will be able to coexist with stablecoins in a manner that is supplementary and competitive to each other,” said Shin Hyun-song, according to the Bank of Korea on Tuesday.
Shin is scheduled to attend a parliamentary confirmation hearing on Wednesday.
In 2023, the South Korean central bank conducted a joint project to test its central bank digital currency with the Bank for International Settlements, where Shin used to work nL1N40B00I.
On the country’s household debt, Shin said de-leveraging efforts needed to continue, along with policy measures to stabilise prices, as they were still at high levels.
“It is still uncertain if the stabilising trend (in house prices) will continue, so policy measures to control demand and increase supply need to be pursued consistently,” Shin said.
According to a local media report, Shin agreed with the government’s regulations on owners of multiple homes, while expressing caution about excessively high property taxes.
Shin also said the central bank would consider diversifying its foreign exchange reserves with investments in gold exchange-traded funds, according to media reports.
(Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus)
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