[Report] "Stop Forklift Transport"... Visiting the Bank of Korea's Currency Storage Armed with Advanced Equipment

Bank of Korea, Automated Vault System Operational

"Previously, most currency handling tasks, such as transporting and stacking currency with forklifts, were done manually. Now, by utilizing the automated vault system, we have enhanced the efficiency, security, and stability of vault management."

On the first floor of the Bank of Korea headquarters on Namdaemun-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul, the currency storage room was unusually opened to reporters on the 16th to showcase the operation of the Bank of Korea’s automated vault system equipped with automated devices. The Bank of Korea established the automated vault system at its headquarters and began operation on the 8th to improve the efficiency and safety of currency issuance tasks such as currency inflow, outflow, and storage. The currency storage room is a secure facility not open to the public, but as the Issuance Department resumed full-scale currency issuance operations with its return to the headquarters, the upgraded system was revealed externally.

Kim Geun-young, Director of the Bank of Korea Issuance Department, said, "By integrating the latest logistics automation equipment with a specially developed computer system, the automated vault system is expected to perform currency issuance tasks for the public more stably, quickly, and accurately than before."

During the demonstration of the automated vault system operation that day, a series of processes such as currency inflow and stacking using automated equipment were introduced.

When a bundle of 50,000 won bills weighing 60 kg (worth approximately 500 million won) was loaded onto the conveyor in the currency storage room, the automated inspection machine identified and inspected the visual information and weight of the stored currency. Then, a large palletizing robot automatically stacked the stored currency onto pallets at a consistent speed. Each pallet holds 60 bundles of 50,000 won bills (worth approximately 30 billion won), and it took about six minutes to fill one pallet. Since the machine loads currency at regular intervals, it requires less physical effort and reduces the possibility of errors.

The Bank of Korea added that with the establishment of this automated vault system, the automation rate of issuance tasks increased from about 40% to around 70?80%, and stacking capacity increased by about 30%.

Kim Geun-young, Director of the Banknote Issuance Department at the Bank of Korea, is briefing at the "Automated Vault System Briefing" held on the 16th at the Bank of Korea headquarters currency receiving room in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

The inflow and outflow of currency in the automated vault use a vertical conveyor and a conveyor belt to transport currency vertically. The tasks of transporting currency within the vault and stacking it on storage shelves are performed by unmanned guided vehicles (AGVs) placed inside the vault. All these processes are monitored through advanced CCTV. This minimizes physical vault access and currency handling, thereby enhancing security.

Instructions for currency inflow and outflow, inventory management, and control of automated equipment inside the vault are all managed by an integrated computer system. Director Kim emphasized, "With the operation of the automated vault system, the expansion of vault stacking capacity, improvement of currency storage methods, and real-time inventory management through the computer system have increased work efficiency. The shift from manual methods using forklifts for currency transport and stacking to unmanned guided vehicles fundamentally eliminates the possibility of physical accidents and significantly enhances the safety of currency supply tasks."

On the morning of the same day, the Bank of Korea held a ceremony to inaugurate the automated vault system operation, attended by Governor Lee Chang-yong and other officials. At the event, Governor Lee presented plaques of appreciation to LG CNS, the system developer, and urged the related departments to actively respond to changes in currency supply conditions and distribution environments to ensure that the public experiences no inconvenience in currency use and economic activities.

On the 16th, the automated vault system is being demonstrated at the Bank of Korea headquarters currency storage in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

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