[Bank of Korea and 9 Banks Launch Phase 2 Pilot for Digital Won] According to CoinDesk, the Bank of Korea (BOK) has partnered with nine commercial banks to launch the second phase of the digital won pilot. This phase involves testing bank-issued deposit tokens pegged to the Korean won on a wholesale CBDC infrastructure, aimed at nationwide payments and government subsidy distribution. Kyongnam Bank and iM Bank have joined this phase, which will focus on verifying cost reduction effects in large-scale transaction scenarios and alleviating credit card fee burdens for large corporations and small merchants. Peer-to-peer transfers, previously difficult to implement, will be enabled during this phase. The government plans to distribute some subsidies in digital currency form in the first half of this year, prioritizing scenarios such as electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Additionally, it will explore the feasibility of using digital currency as a payment method for AI agents.