The Bank of Korea is set to exclude the South Korean capital Seoul from potential areas being used to test its central bank digital currency (CBDC), news outlet It.chosun reported on Monday.

The pilot is timed for next year and is likely to take place in Jeju, Busan or Incheon in conjunction with commercial banks, It.chosun said. The program will test the use of CBDC payments and explore CBDC distribution to the public.

South Korea has been ramping up its CBDC exploration in recent years and has been working on the project since at least 2020. The central bank wrapped up the first phase of its CBDC simulation project, which tested functions such as manufacturing, issuing and distribution of a CBDC in a simulated environment, in December 2021.

Next year's pilot will enable people within the chosen region to use the CBDC solely within that region as a means of payment like a local currency, It.chosun said. Jeju, Busan and Incheon are all areas that have distributed a local currency in the past.

CoinDesk reached out to the Bank of Korea for further comment.

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Camomile Shumba

Camomile Shumba is a CoinDesk regulatory reporter based in the UK. Previously, Shumba interned at Business Insider and Bloomberg. Camomile has featured in Harpers Bazaar, Red, the BBC, Black Ballad, Journalism.co.uk, Cryptopolitan.com and South West Londoner. Shumba studied politics, philosophy and economics as a combined degree at the University of East Anglia before doing a postgraduate degree in multimedia journalism. While she did her undergraduate degree she had an award-winning radio show on making a difference. She does not currently hold value in any digital currencies or projects.