South Korea has positioned AI as the core direction for its economic development in the second half of the year, and is accelerating pilot programs for central bank digital currencies (CBDC) and tokenization of government bonds.

South Korea's Ministry of Economy and Finance announced that it will continue advancing the development of blockchain and digital asset economy in the second half of 2026, with key priorities including promoting the legislation of the Digital Assets Basic Act, pushing forward a trial project for tokenized government bonds linked to institutional central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and researching interoperability between CBDCs and other blockchain networks. Additionally, the South Korean government plans to establish a legal framework for cross-border stablecoin transactions, push for amendments to the Capital Markets Act to provide a legal basis for the launch of South Korea's first spot crypto ETFs, and explore using blockchain for the management and trading of carbon credits in the Global Voluntary Carbon Market (GVCM). Meanwhile, the South Korean government has positioned AI as a core direction for economic development in the second half of the year, designating physical AI, AI data centers, and semiconductors as three major "Mega Projects". It plans to invest around 800 trillion won to build a new semiconductor production base and double its storage chip production capacity over the next five years.