41 Counterfeit Bills Discovered in First Half of Year; 'Fake if Serial Numbers Differ'

South Korea has seen a significant decrease in counterfeit currency, with the number of fake banknotes found in the first half of this year falling by more than 30%. According to the Bank of Korea, a total of 41 counterfeit bills were detected between January and June, a notable drop from the 62 instances recorded during the same period in 2023.

This decline is reflected in the total value of counterfeit notes seized, which also saw a substantial reduction. The decrease was particularly pronounced in the 50,000 won denomination, with the number of fakes dropping from 15 to just 5. This contributed significantly to the overall decrease in the monetary value of counterfeit currency detected.

Analysis of the discovered counterfeit notes reveals that the 5,000 won denomination was the most frequently found, accounting for 22 of the 41 fake bills. A significant portion of these, 17 notes, bore the serial number '77246', which originated from a large-scale counterfeiting operation apprehended in June 2013. While the number of counterfeit notes from this specific serial number has decreased compared to the previous year, it remains a notable factor in the current findings. In total, 12 new counterfeit serial numbers were identified during this period.