“Counterfeit banknotes discovered last year were at a record low level.
A total of 143 counterfeit notes were found in 2024, a decrease of 54 notes (-27.4%) compared to the previous year (197 notes). The total amount of counterfeit notes discovered in 2024 was 1.93 million won, a slight decrease of 7.1% compared to the previous year (2.078 million won).
The Bank of Korea attributes this to the increased use of non-cash payment methods like cards or electronic payments for face-to-face transactions and the improved ability of citizens to identify counterfeit money.
The number of counterfeit notes discovered by denomination was 75 notes of 5,000 won, 40 notes of 10,000 won, 23 notes of 50,000 won, and 5 notes of 1,000 won. The 5,000 won and 1,000 won notes decreased by 48 (-39.0%) and 8 (-61.5%) notes respectively from the previous year, while the 50,000 won notes increased by 2 (9.5%) notes. The 10,000 won notes remained the same as the previous year.
For the 5,000 won notes, a serial number ‘77246’ counterfeit note produced by a mass counterfeiter apprehended in June 2013 still appears frequently with 74 notes found, but newly discovered counterfeit notes remain at a low level excluding these.
Regarding the discoverers of counterfeit notes, 7 were found by the Bank of Korea, 132 by financial institutions, and 4 by individuals, mainly detected during the currency handling process by financial institutions. Of the counterfeit notes found by financial institutions (132 notes), 81 notes (61.4%) were discovered in the Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon metropolitan areas.
Additionally, the number of counterfeit notes found per 1 million sheets of banknotes in circulation in Korea last year was 0.02, a decrease of 0.01 compared to the previous year (0.03).”