[2026 Growth Strategy] Subsidies and Vouchers to Be Issued in Digital Currency

Aiming to Use Digital Currency for One-Quarter of Treasury Funds
Pilot Projects for Various Subsidies and Vouchers
Establishing Regulations for Cross-Border Stablecoin Transactions

Going forward, various subsidies and vouchers provided by the government will be issued in the form of digital currency. Regulatory measures for cross-border transfers and transactions of stablecoins are also set to be established this year, in line with trends in major countries.

Yonhap News Agency

The Ministry of Economy and Finance announced on January 9 that its '2026 Economic Growth Strategy' includes plans for the use of digital currency and the modernization of treasury management. The government aims to support the execution of one-quarter of treasury funds using digital currency by 2030.

First, by the first half of this year, a pilot application of deposit tokens (bank deposits issued in the form of digital tokens) will be introduced in the electric vehicle charging infrastructure project to generate real-world use cases. When eligible charging stations are purchased and installed, deposit tokens that can be converted to cash will be provided, aiming to prevent fraudulent claims and shorten the settlement period.

Additional use cases, such as subsidies and voucher programs, will continue to be explored in the future. An official from the Ministry of Economy and Finance stated, "The electric vehicle charging infrastructure project was selected as one of the pilot projects," adding, "We also plan to identify additional pilot projects that can be implemented as subsidy or voucher programs." The official continued, "Depending on the nature of future projects, we will proceed after discussions with relevant ministries."

The legal basis to enable full-scale payments and settlements using blockchain will be established this year. Based on the results of the pilot projects, the government plans to revise the Bank of Korea Act and the National Treasury Management Act. In addition, electronic wallets will be distributed to allow the payment and settlement of business operation expenses using deposit tokens. The deposit token system will be linked to dBrain (the digital budget and accounting system), and the processing capacity for digital currency will be expanded.

The institutionalization of digital assets will also be promoted this year, including the establishment of a regulatory framework for stablecoins (virtual assets designed to minimize price volatility). During the second phase of digital asset legislation, the government plans to introduce an issuer licensing system (including capital requirements and other reviews), management of reserve assets (such as maintaining reserves above 100% of issuance), and redemption rights. In connection with the second phase of legislation, regulatory measures for cross-border transfers and transactions of stablecoins will also be introduced.

An official from the Ministry of Economy and Finance explained, "Major countries such as the United States, Japan, and the European Union have already established regulatory frameworks allowing the payment and settlement of stablecoins, and have begun full-scale issuance." The official added, "We will gather opinions from experts and the industry, and review various perspectives on the legal framework for cross-border transactions of stablecoins under the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act through research projects and overseas case studies," and emphasized, "We aim to establish regulatory measures by the end of this year."