Naver, Kakao affiliates and SK Inc. bid for CBDC test contract

Bank of Korea's headquarters in central Seoul. [YONHAP]

Affiliates of Naver and Kakao as well as SK Inc. bid for the contract to manage the 10-month test of the Bank of Korea's central bank digital currency (CBDC).

According to the bank Monday, three companies — Line Plus, Ground X and SK Inc. — participated in the bidding process.

Line Plus is affiliated with Naver and Ground X with Kakao.

Korea's central bank has been working on developing CBDC technology since last year, as the world's major central banks started looking into the potential of CBDCs as their answer to cryptocurrencies, which are volatile and largely beyond their control.

The major goal of the 10-month project is to verify basic functions of a CBDC, from issuance and distribution to redemption, and also its application, like payments offline and online in different scenarios.

The bank will select its final partner in July to start the project in August.

BY KIM JEE-HEE [kim.jeehee@joongang.co.kr]