Cash Usage Decreases Due to COVID-19... Damaged Currency Disposal Volume Drops 35.5% in First Half of Year

Bank of Korea 'Damaged Currency Disposal Volume in the First Half of 2021'

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Eunbyeol] As the COVID-19 pandemic prolonged, cash usage decreased and the amount of cash returned to the central bank also declined, leading to a sharp drop in the volume of damaged currency discarded by the Bank of Korea.

According to the "Volume of Damaged Currency Discarded in the First Half of 2021" announced by the Bank of Korea on the 13th, the damaged currency discarded by the Bank of Korea in the first half of this year was 223.1 million notes (1.0436 trillion KRW), a decrease of 122.6 million notes (35.5%) compared to 345.7 million notes (2.6923 trillion KRW) in the same period last year.

The Bank of Korea discards currency that has been collected and processed through currency sorting but is judged unsuitable for circulation due to damage or contamination.

Banknotes centered on the 1,000-won denomination accounted for 178 million notes (1.039 trillion KRW), and coins centered on the 100-won denomination accounted for 45.1 million coins (4.6 billion KRW) discarded.

If the discarded damaged currency notes were laid end to end, the total length would reach 48,883 km, approximately equivalent to about 59 round trips on the Gyeongbu Expressway (416 km). The total height stacked would be 94,115 m, which is 11 times the height of Mount Everest (8,848 m) and 169 times the height of Lotte World Tower (556 m).

The discarded banknotes amounted to 178 million notes (1.039 trillion KRW), a decrease of 152.4 million notes, about 36%, compared to 330.36 million notes (2.691 trillion KRW) in the same period last year. The Bank of Korea stated, "The prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, poor currency collection, and reduced operation rates of automatic sorting machines due to social distancing measures have influenced this decline."

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