The Bank of Korea: "176 Counterfeit Bills Found in 2021... Lowest Since Related Statistics Announcement"

Announcement on the Status of Counterfeit Banknotes Discovered in 2021

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] The total number of counterfeit bills reported last year was 176, marking the lowest level since related statistics were first published in 1998.

According to the "2021 Mid-Year Counterfeit Currency Detection Status" released by the Bank of Korea on the 19th, the total number of counterfeit bills discovered by the Bank of Korea during currency handling or reported to the Bank of Korea by financial institutions or individuals last year was 176, a 35.3% decrease compared to 272 bills in 2020. Additionally, the number of counterfeit bills reported last year was the lowest since related statistics began being published in 1998.

The Bank of Korea attributed the significant decrease in counterfeit bills to the sluggish use of cash for face-to-face transactions due to the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Furthermore, various promotional efforts by the Bank of Korea to improve counterfeit detection capabilities among financial institutions and the public also had an impact.

Breaking down the counterfeit bills by denomination, 97 were 5,000-won bills, 39 were 10,000-won bills, 22 were 50,000-won bills, and 18 were 1,000-won bills. Except for the 1,000-won bills, the number of counterfeit bills detected in all denominations decreased compared to the previous year.

The total face value of counterfeit bills last year was 1,993,000 won, a decrease of 1,052,000 won compared to the previous year (3,045,000 won), as the proportion of 10,000-won bills dropped from 37.8% to 19.6%.

Regarding the 5,000-won bills, the Bank of Korea explained that counterfeit bills with the serial number '77246,' produced by a large-scale counterfeiter in June 2013, are still being found in large quantities; however, excluding these, the discovery of new counterfeit bills remains at a low level.

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