South Korea’s CBDC Pilot Faced No Independent Security Audit

The pilot, which ran from April to June last year, utilized security assessments conducted in February by Woori Bank and NongHyup Bank, alongside the Financial Security Institute and SK Shields. Because these institutions were directly involved in the project, the lack of an external, post-pilot audit has triggered concerns regarding the objectivity of the safety findings.

While the Bank of Korea maintains that its Project Han River adhered to established regulatory procedures, critics argue that the central bank’s defense of the system relies on self-evaluations rather than third-party verification. The Financial Supervisory Service reported that only one formal consultation occurred between regulators and banking entities regarding CBDC or deposit token products over the past three years. This oversight gap persists as the Bank of Korea pivots toward broader digital asset strategies, including won-backed stablecoins and the integration of tokenized government bonds.