SEOUL, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's fake banknotes found in 2021 hit a record low as the COVID-19 pandemic reduced demand for face-to-face transactions, central bank data showed Wednesday.
The number of counterfeit banknotes, which were found or reported last year, stood at 176, according to the Bank of Korea.
It was down from 272 tallied in 2020, marking the lowest since relevant data began to be compiled in 1998.
The number of reported 5,000-won (4.2 U.S. dollars) fake bills was 97 in 2021, taking up 55.1 percent of the total.
It was trailed by 10,000-won (8.4 dollars) counterfeit bills with 39 cases, 50,000-won (42 dollars) fake notes with 22, and 1,000-won (0.84 dollars) fake bills with 18.
About 77 percent of the fake notes were found in the Seoul metropolitan area, the data showed. ■