[Asia Economy Reporter Eunbyeol Kim] Samsung Electronics and Escore, a subsidiary of Samsung SDS, are participating in the Bank of Korea's central bank digital currency (CBDC) project.
On the 4th, Shim Junsik, CEO of Ground X, a blockchain subsidiary of Kakao and a member of the consortium, stated in an interview with Forbes USA, "Samsung SDS and KPMG are serving as advisors in the Bank of Korea's CBDC project." This statement implies the participation of Escore, a subsidiary of Samsung SDS.
Along with Escore, Samsung Electronics is also reportedly experimenting with whether CBDC can be used without internet connectivity on devices such as the Galaxy.
Ground X signed a research service contract for CBDC with the Bank of Korea on the 21st of last month. It was selected as the business operator for the Bank of Korea's CBDC pilot project, surpassing Line Plus and SK C&C. The Bank of Korea plans to collaborate with Ground X to establish a CBDC platform and technically verify extended functions including offline payments and digital artwork purchases, in addition to basic functions such as issuance, distribution, and redemption. The full-scale research service will commence on the 23rd of this month and continue for about 10 months. The Bank of Korea aims to complete the first phase of experiments by the end of this year and finish the second phase by June next year.
A Bank of Korea official explained, "The Bank of Korea has a service contract with Ground X, and other operators such as Samsung Electronics are separately contacting and collaborating with Ground X to establish a service contract with the Bank of Korea."
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