South Korea keeps blockchain push while prioritizing AI, chips

South Korea’s Finance Ministry plans to continue building the blockchain and digital asset economy through large pilot projects and a 2027 trial to tokenize government bonds linked to an institutional central bank digital currency (CBDC). The announcement came at a State Council meeting on Monday outlining the government's program for the second half of 2026.

The ministry said the Bank of Korea will study technical and operational options to enable interoperability between the institutional CBDC and other blockchain networks as part of the 2027 bond tokenization pilot. The pilot aims to test the use of distributed-ledger technology within public financial infrastructure.

Officials also plan to advance the Digital Asset Basic Act for enactment in the second half of 2026. The bill, under development since mid-2025, would create a legal framework for digital assets, set rules on business conduct, and define requirements for stablecoins pegged to the Korean won. The government will seek a legal basis for cross-border stablecoin transactions and back revisions to the Capital Markets Act to permit spot cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds in South Korea.

The ministry described steps to increase private-sector activity in the digital asset market and to explore blockchain applications beyond finance. One proposal is to work with international organisations to manage and trade Global Voluntary Carbon Market credits on distributed-ledger systems.

At the same time, the government elevated artificial intelligence as a top priority by designating physical AI, AI data centers, and semiconductors as three “Mega Projects.” The package includes an 800 trillion won investment program to build new fabrication facilities in the country’s southwest, creating a second major production base alongside plants in the capital region. The plan sets a target to double memory chip production capacity within five years.

The government plans to promote the establishment of a global AI hub to attract international organisations and multilateral development banks, and to encourage large-scale construction of AI data centers. Officials linked the semiconductor build-out, data center expansion, and AI facilities as coordinated elements of the H2 2026 agenda.

The State Council package sets a timeline for legislation and pilots through 2027 and assigns responsibilities across the Finance Ministry, the Bank of Korea, and other agencies to align financial infrastructure upgrades with digital asset regulation and a major build-out of semiconductor and AI capacity.