The amount of 50-thousand-won banknotes in circulation posted about 70 trillion won in the month of May.
 
According to the Bank of Korea (BOK) on Sunday, outstanding banknotes came to 91-point-28 trillion won at the end of May, with 50-thousand won bills accounting for 76 percent or 69-point-37 trillion won.
 
Outstanding banknotes refer to actual bills in circulation excluding those collected by the central bank.
 
The amount of 50-thousand bills in circulation increased by five trillion won or seven-point-nine percent from the end of last year.
 
Since the introduction of the 50-thousand won banknote in 2009, the bills in circulation increased by an annual average of ten trillion won for seven years and increased by one trillion won per month on average this year.
 
However, the central bank’s low collection rate of 50-thousand won bills is causing concerns that the bills are entering the underground economy.
 
The return rate of the bills marked 48-point-two percent in the first five months of the year, which is much lower than 110 percent for 10,000 won bills, 83 percent for five-thousand won bills and 90 percent for one-thousand won bills.
 
A BOK official said that the increased proportion of 50-thousand won bills in the nation’s banknotes reflects increased demand for the bills, adding the collection rate will naturally grow with the increase in the use of large-denomination bills.