The Bank of Korea(BOK) said it will take necessary steps to facilitate the issuance of the Central Bank Digital Currency(CBDC) once it's introduced in the country, expressing hopes it could help improve international payment services.

Acting Deputy Governor Bae Jun-seok stated during an online conference on Thursday that the rapid growth of "stablecoins" is due in part to the slow rate of and limited access to existing global wire services in addition to their high costs.

Stablecoins refer to digital assets designed to maintain a stable value relative to a national currency or other reference assets. Their market value grew from six billion US dollars in 2019 to over 130 billion dollars recently, according to the central bank.

The central bank deemed that South Korea does not lag behind other countries in CBDC research, Bae said. 

The deputy governor added that the agency is planning to unveil within next year a comprehensive report outlining the potential impact of CBDC on the central bank's responsibilities, such as its management of monetary and fiscal policies.