LG CNS will take a full part in the second phase of the Bank of Korea-led pilot for an institutional digital currency and deposit tokens, called Project Hangang. This phase also seeks ways to apply “deposit tokens” — bank deposits converted into token form — to real transactions by the general public as well as to the execution of state subsidies.

Project Hangang is a project in which the Bank of Korea, the government and the banking sector cooperate to verify whether deposit tokens can be used as a new means of payment and an efficient tool for fiscal disbursements, and to link the results to eventual commercialisation. LG CNS will again participate as the main contractor in the second phase following the first, taking charge of operating and upgrading the digital currency system.

The core of the second phase is to lay the groundwork for commercialising deposit tokens. The government is reviewing a method of paying subsidies for an electric vehicle charging facility construction project, scheduled to start in the first half of the year, using deposit tokens. It will use this to verify system stability and scalability.

Ahead of the second-phase project, LG CNS also completed development of new functions to expand convenience in using deposit tokens, including biometric authentication, person-to-person transfers and automatic deposits and withdrawals of deposit tokens. On that basis, the number of banks and places where ordinary consumers can use deposit tokens will expand.

In addition to KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank, Hana Bank, IBK Industrial Bank of Korea, NH Nonghyup Bank and BNK Busan Bank, BNK Kyongnam Bank and iM Bank expressed their intention to join. Consumers can convert bank deposits into deposit tokens and pay by QR code at designated online and offline merchants. Places where they can be used, such as convenience stores, supermarkets, coffee shops and bookstores, are also set to expand.

Hong-geun Kim (김홍근), vice president and head of LG CNS' Digital Business Division, said, "We will continue to advance the digital currency infrastructure so it can be used stably across public finances and people's livelihoods." He added, "We will also actively support the implementation of various innovative services centred on deposit tokens."