National Treasury Subsidies to Use Blockchain: World's First Application of Deposit Tokens for Treasury Execution

Pilot Application to Electric Vehicle Charging Project
Expected to Prevent Fraudulent Claims and Shorten Settlement Period

Koo Yoonchul, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, is attending the expanded macroeconomic and financial meeting held at the Banking Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 19th, delivering opening remarks. 2026.03.19 Photo by Dongjoo Yoon

The government is embarking on the world’s first experiment to introduce blockchain-based “deposit tokens” for the execution of national treasury subsidies. By starting with an electric vehicle charging infrastructure project and actively promoting fiscal operations using digital currency, the pace of the “digital transformation of fiscal management” is expected to accelerate, fundamentally changing the subsidy payment and settlement system.

According to the government on March 19, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yoon-chul, Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment Kim Seonghwan, and Bank of Korea Governor Lee Changyong are scheduled to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at the Seoul Government Complex on March 24 for a pilot project to execute national treasury funds using digital currency.

The aim is to transform the payment and settlement method for treasury subsidies into a blockchain-based system by utilizing institutional digital currency and deposit tokens, thereby enhancing transparency and operational efficiency in fiscal management.

Digital currency is a form of legal tender issued by the central bank on a blockchain basis, while deposit tokens are digital payment instruments issued based on bank deposits. The Bank of Korea has already verified this technology through real transaction tests involving the general public, but this is the first time it will be applied to a national project.

The pilot project will focus on the “electric vehicle charging facility construction project” under the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, specifically targeting mid-speed charging stations (maximum output 30–50 kW, with a total project size of 30 billion won). The Korea Environment Corporation, as the implementing agency, will announce an open call for project participants in May, conduct the selection process starting in June, and execute subsidies in the form of deposit tokens.

The government expects that this will improve the overall efficiency of fiscal management, including the prevention of fraudulent claims and shortening of the settlement period.

The agreement includes building a system for the pilot project, supporting inter-agency integration, sharing data and monitoring implementation during the process, as well as verifying results and expanding best practices. It also covers reviewing institutional and financial support, discussing future scalability, and pursuing improvement measures to reduce administrative burdens on private operators and implementing agencies.

Deputy Prime Minister Koo stated, “This agreement will mark the starting point for innovation in fiscal management using digital technology,” and added, “We aim to transition one quarter of national treasury executions to digital currency by 2030, and will actively identify and expand related projects.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.