South Korea's central bank and Samsung Electronics have agreed to cooperate on Central Bank Digital Currency(CBDC) research amid a global shift toward the concept by major governments worldwide.

The tech giant and the Bank of Korea(BOK) held a ceremony to mark the signing of the memorandum of understanding on Monday at Samsung Digital City in Suwon, agreeing to continue research on CBDC and cooperate in the offline payment sector.

CBDC is a digital currency issued directly by central banks, using blockchain or distributed ledger technology.

Previously, Samsung participated in the second phase of a pilot study on the digital asset conducted by the BOK, enabling transfers and payments between devices through near-field communication even without an internet connection.

Based on the technology, the two parties will work toward minimizing security threats when making offline payments using Samsung's smartphones and smartwatches and ensure that payment is possible in disaster situations that lack an internet connection.