Damaged Coins (Image provided by the Bank of Korea)
SEOUL, Feb. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — The Bank of Korea (BOK) disposed of nearly 3.38 trillion won ($23.1 billion) worth of damaged or contaminated banknotes and coins in 2024, a slight decrease from the previous year.
According to a report released on Monday, the central bank discarded approximately 474.89 million currency units last year, down 1.9% from the 483.85 million units eliminated in 2023. Of the total, 373.36 million were banknotes, valued at 3.36 trillion won, while 101.53 million were coins, worth 118 billion won.
Among banknotes, 10,000-won bills made up the largest portion, with 197.04 million notes accounting for 52.8% of all disposed banknotes.
To illustrate the sheer volume of discarded currency, the BOK noted that if all the bills were laid end to end, they would stretch 55,906 kilometers—enough to traverse South Korea’s main expressway 67 times.
Stacked vertically, the banknotes would reach 203,701 meters, 23 times the height of Mount Everest and 367 times the height of Seoul’s Lotte World Tower.
The central bank offers compensation for damaged banknotes based on the extent of their deterioration. If more than three-quarters of a bill remains intact, the BOK exchanges it for its full face value.
Banknotes Damaged by Humidity (Image provided by the Bank of Korea)
If at least 40% but less than 75% remains, only half the value is reimbursed. Coins, however, are only exchanged if they are recognizable and verifiable.
Some notable currency exchanges last year included an individual who replaced 81.4 million won worth of banknotes that had been burned in a factory fire and another who recovered 10.67 million won in bills damaged by moisture.
One person mistakenly tore up 41,000 won in cash and had it exchanged, while another retrieved 3.76 million won worth of coins from a temple wishing pond and successfully swapped them for undamaged currency.
A BOK official emphasized the importance of handling money carefully to reduce the costs of producing new currency. “Using banknotes and coins responsibly helps lower annual currency production costs,” the official stated, adding that the bank will continue its public awareness campaign on proper currency usage.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
