Currency Damaged by Fire and Moisture Totals 2.7 Trillion Won in the First Half of the Year

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Burnt Banknotes

Banknotes Damaged by Washing Machine Use

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Eun-byeol] The amount of money rendered unusable due to fire damage or moisture reached approximately 2.7 trillion KRW in the first half of this year.

According to the "2020 First Half Damaged Currency Disposal and Exchange Scale" announced by the Bank of Korea on the 31st, the number of damaged currency notes disposed of by the Bank of Korea in the first half of this year was 345.7 million notes, an increase of 500,000 notes (0.1%) compared to the same period last year (345.2 million notes).

In terms of amount, the damaged currency totaled 2.6923 trillion KRW.

Banknotes amounted to 330.4 million notes, totaling 2.691 trillion KRW that became unusable and were disposed of. The 10,000 KRW notes accounted for 68.6% of the disposed banknotes, with 226.6 million notes discarded. The 1,000 KRW notes made up 25.9%, the 5,000 KRW notes 3.8%, and the 50,000 KRW notes accounted for 1.7% of the disposed currency.

Coins totaling 15.3 million pieces, worth 1.3 billion KRW, were disposed of, with 10 KRW coins making up 51% of the disposed coins. Next were 100 KRW coins, which accounted for 33.5% of the disposed coins.

During the first half of the year, damaged currency exchanged through the Bank of Korea's currency exchange counters amounted to 6.05 billion KRW, an increase of 2.42 billion KRW compared to the same period last year. The number of exchanged banknotes was 94,300 notes (worth 2.52 billion KRW), with 50,000 KRW notes accounting for 49.2%.

Regarding the reasons for currency damage, fire damage accounted for the largest amount at 1.32 billion KRW. Damage due to improper storage such as moisture-induced decay amounted to 1.02 billion KRW, while careless handling such as putting money in washing machines or shredders accounted for the smallest amount at 190 million KRW.

The Bank of Korea exchanges damaged banknotes for new ones in full if at least three-quarters of the original area remains after fire damage. If the remaining area is between two-fifths and less than three-quarters, only half the value is exchanged, and if less than two-fifths remains, no exchange is provided.

Coins are fully exchanged if their shape is recognizable.

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