Associated Press

Seoul, April 18:

South Korea will introduce new banknotes next year that are more difficult to copy in a campaign against counterfeiting, the central bank said today. Counterfeiting cases have risen sharply recently, increasing by 50 per cent a year from 1998 to 2004, the Bank of Korea said in a statement. In the first quarter of this year alone, the bank said there were 3,153 cases — more than quadruple the number in the first three months of 2004. New 5,000 won ($4.89) bills will be introduced in the first half of next year, with other notes to follow in 2007. The banknotes will be smaller in size to conform with currencies in other countries, and will incorporate anti-forgery technology such as holograms and colour-shifting ink. The new bills also will use bright colors and graphics to be “artistically attractive,” the bank said.