Damaged banknotes dip in 2025: BOK

▲ In this file photo provided by the Bank of Korea on July 16, 2017, banknotes are seen burned. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

BOK-damaged banknotes

Damaged banknotes dip in 2025: BOK

SEOUL, Jan. 13 (Yonhap) -- The volume and value of damaged banknotes declined last year as fewer bills were returned amid rising demand for cash, the central bank said Tuesday.

The Bank of Korea (BOK) discarded 364.01 million damaged banknotes last year, down 23.3 percent from 474.89 million notes destroyed in 2024, according to the central bank.

In terms of value, the destroyed banknotes totaled 2.84 trillion won (US$1.93 billion) in 2025, down 15.9 percent from 3.38 trillion won a year earlier.

Damaged banknotes include those burned in fires, those deteriorated by moisture due to improper storage and those crushed under floor coverings.

The decline was largely attributable to a drop in returned banknotes, driven mainly by increased currency demand stemming from lower market interest rates, the BOK said.

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