This undated photo, released by the Bank of Korea on Jan. 16, 2019, shows burned 50,000-won banknotes.
SEOUL, Jan. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — Bills and coins that the South Korean central bank discarded due to damage grew 2.3 percent in 2022 as increased banknotes were redeemed amid high interest rates, data showed Tuesday.
A total of 412.68 million damaged bills and coins were taken out of circulation last year, down from 403.52 million tallied a year earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.
The face value of the destroyed banknotes stood at 2.64 trillion won (US$2.13 billion), compared with 2.04 trillion won the previous year.
The increase came as more banknotes were redeemed as people parked their money at banks for higher interest rates put in place to fight inflation.
The central bank destroyed 356.71 million bills last year, with 10,000-won bills, accounting for 55 percent.
About 55.96 million coins were destroyed due to damage last year and 10-won and 100-won coins made up 34.7 percent and 33.8 percent, respectively, the data showed.
(Yonhap)
