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A total of 1,225 counterfeit U.S. dollar bills worth US$121,760 were uncovered in Korea last year, three times more than last year, according to Bank of Korea data submitted to lawmaker Eom Ho-sung, a member of the National Assembly¡¯s Finance and Economy Committee. In 2004, the number was 420 bills worth $42,075.
So-called supernotes, high-quality counterfeit 100 dollar bills suspected of originating in North Korea, made up the bulk with 1,212, up from 414 in 2004. Both number and value of forged dollar bills increased more than sevenfold from 2001, when 175 worth $16,910 were found.
The central bank said the surge is due to a huge cache worth $40,000 uncovered here last April. But experts say an increasing number of forged dollar bills are smuggled into the country and therefore the detection rate is also increasing.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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