The Bank of Korea announced on the 14th that the total number of counterfeit bills detected in the first half of this year was 98, an increase of 22 bills (28.9%) compared to the previous period.
Although the number of counterfeit bills detected increased compared to the previous period, it decreased by 2 bills (2%) compared to the same period last year. However, the total face value of counterfeit bills amounted to 1.16 million won, an increase of 80,000 won (7.4%) compared to 1.08 million won in the same period last year.
The Bank of Korea explained that the counterfeit bills by denomination were 51 bills of 5,000 won, 30 bills of 10,000 won, 12 bills of 50,000 won, and 5 bills of 1,000 won.
Most of the 5,000 won bills were counterfeit bills with serial number '77246' produced by a large-scale counterfeiter arrested in June 2013 (50 bills), and only one newly discovered counterfeit bill was found.
The total number of serial numbers of newly discovered counterfeit bills was 24, an increase of 6 (33.3%) compared to 18 in the same period last year.
By discoverer, 23 bills were found by the Bank of Korea, 73 bills by financial institutions, and 2 bills by individuals, mainly during the currency handling process of the Bank of Korea and financial institutions.
Also, 61 counterfeit bills were found in the metropolitan area including Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon, accounting for the majority (83.6%).
On the 24th of last month, the Bank of Korea awarded the presidents of the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency Sasang Police Station, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Gwangjin Police Station, Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency Seongnam Jungwon Police Station, and Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency Suwon Nambu Police Station for their contributions to the arrest of counterfeiters. There were no individual award recipients this time.
These agencies conducted active investigations including inquiries, tracking, and stakeouts from December last year to May this year, arresting 4 counterfeiters and 1 person who circulated counterfeit currency.
The Bank of Korea emphasized, "Although the number of counterfeit bills detected is still at a low level, we will make every effort to prevent counterfeit bills as there is concern that the upward trend may continue with the normalization of face-to-face transactions in the future."
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