Home > National > Social Affairs

Sales listing for North Korean banknotes on secondhand goods app prompts police probe

Published: 08 May. 2025, 11:51 Updated: 08 May. 2025, 18:57

A listing of North Korean bills on secondhand goods app Karrot Market on May 4. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

A listing for North Korean currency on the secondhand goods app Karrot Market prompted a police investigation, though no signs of espionage or national security threats were found.

A post titled “North Korean banknotes” was uploaded to Karrot Market on Sunday by a user verified in Jeju City, according to a report by the news outlet News1 on Thursday.

The items up for sale were two North Korean bills: a 5,000-won note and a 2,000-won note, both featuring a portrait of the late North Korean leader Kim Il Sung. The asking price was 15,000 won ($10.7).

“These bills were exchanged directly with a North Korean person at a Chinese airport,” the seller claimed in the listing.

Upon learning of the post, the Jeju Provincial Police Agency launched a field investigation on Tuesday. Authorities later concluded that the case posed no threat to national security and that the seller had acquired the currency as a souvenir during a trip to China. The post has since been deleted.

However, police cautioned that trading North Korean currency could violate the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act or Article 211 of the Criminal Act, which pertains to the unauthorized production or handling of currency-like items.

“Transactions involving foreign currencies like U.S. dollars or euros on secondhand platforms may violate foreign exchange laws,” said a Jeju police official. “Exchanging or distributing North Korean banknotes after contact with North Korean nationals abroad may also be punishable. We advise the public to be cautious.”

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY JANG GU-SEUL [[email protected]]