[South Korea's Central Bank Launches 24-Hour Korean Won Settlement Pilot] Odaily Planet Daily reports that the Bank of Korea (BOK) has launched its first 24-hour Korean won settlement network trial operation, with KB Kookmin Bank, Woori Bank, Hana Bank, and Shinhan Bank participating. The network is scheduled to be fully operational by January 2027 and will expand to other institutions and foreign banks. The network will operate around the clock except on weekends and public holidays, allowing foreign investors to settle Korean won transactions during their local business hours by registering foreign institution accounts for Korean won transactions, without the need to open accounts directly with Korean financial institutions. Previously, the Bank of Korea participated in Project Agorá, led by the Bank for International Settlements, and completed a cross-border payment trial in July using tokenized central bank reserves and commercial bank deposits. It is also advancing Project Hangang, a blockchain-based initiative utilizing wholesale central bank digital currency to settle tokenized commercial bank deposits. (Cointelegraph)