South Korean central bank embarks on crypto expert hiring spree

South Korea’s central bank will fast-track the appointment of experienced crypto experts as it looks to revive its central bank digital currency plans.

The Bank of Korea wants to hire 10 new employees, an undisclosed number of whom will need experience in the crypto industry, South Korean media outlet EToday reported.

At least one of the new experts will work as a “digital assets market analyst” as of July, the BOK wrote in an official notice.

The hirings and CBDC pivot come in the wake of the government’s decision to nominate a known stablecoin-sceptic, the Bank for International Settlements Monetary Economy Bureau chief Shin Hung-song, to the BOK’s governorship.

Experienced hires

Upon joining the BOK, the new digital asset hires will be tasked with researching and analysing a range of key issues in the crypto space, EToday wrote.

These will include the impact cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and tokenised assets can have on financial stability, as well as domestic and international regulations.

The South Korean financial and payment systems are changing rapidly, as crypto and stablecoin adoption gather pace.

The BOK is responding by revamping its internal systems ahead of incoming legislation that will lift a long-standing ban on cryptocurrency and stablecoin issuance on South Korean territory.

The government wants tech firms and banks to launch won-pegged stablecoins to help them facilitate cross-border payments.

Applicants to the BOK’s new posts must possess at least five years of on-the-job experience, the bank said.

Reviving Project Hangang

The hiring spree comes a week after the BOK announced it was restarting its central bank digital currency initiative, dubbed Project Hangang.

The BOK wound down Project Hangang last year following a two-year pilot, claiming trial participants found the coin too inconvenient to use when compared to existing cash-free pay platforms.

“The digital won is a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist in South Korea,” a pilot participant who asked to remain anonymous told DL News in 2024.

But rather than focusing exclusively on creating a blockchain-powered version of the Korean won for retail usage, the latest iteration of Project Hangang appears to focus on the digital won’s potential in the government and business spaces.

The government plans to distribute 25% of its subsidies using the digital won by 2030, and will start making CBDC pilot payments “in the first half of 2026,” a BOK official told South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo.

“The services developed through Project Hangang could serve as a preview for the future introduction of won-pegged stablecoins,” Kim Dong-sub, the head of the BOK’s Digital Currency Planning Team, told the newspaper. “Rather than competing with one another, [stablecoins and the CBDC] will be synergetic.”

Tim Alper is a News Correspondent at DL News. Got a tip? Email him at [email protected].