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Detected fake banknotes hit record low in 2025: BOK

Published: 21 Jan. 2026, 14:36

An official checks banknotes at a Hana Bank branch in Seoul, in May 7, 2024. [YONHAP]

The number of counterfeit banknotes detected in Korea dropped below 100 for the first time ever in 2025 amid the growing use of cashless payments, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Wednesday.

A total of 98 counterfeit banknotes were found last year, down 33.3 percent from 147 in 2024, according to the BOK.

The figure dropped from 3,293 in 2015 to below 1,000 for the first time in 2018 and has since remained on a downward trend.

About 1.4 counterfeit banknotes were detected per 100 million in circulation in Korea, compared with 1,977 in Britain, 1,866 in the eurozone, 757 in Canada and 16.5 in Japan.

The low rate is attributable to a growing preference for non-cash payment methods in face-to-face transactions, and improved public awareness and ability to detect counterfeit bills, the BOK said.

"We will maintain close cooperation among relevant agencies to effectively prevent the production and circulation of counterfeit banknotes, and to establish a sound currency circulation system going forward," a BOK spokesperson said.

Yonhap