By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter



The Bank of Korea (BOK) Wednesday unveiled the design for the new 5,000-won banknote and its anti-forgery features.
Printing will begin on Monday at the newly-built minting lines of the Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation in Kyongsan, North Kyongsang Province.

The BOK said it will issue the new bills early next year. The specimens of the new 10,000-won and 1,000-won bills will be unveiled in the first half of next year, the central bank said.

The bank used hologram technology in the design of the 5,000-won banknote. Depending on the angle it is seen in, the hologram shows the images of the Korean map and elements of the yin and yang symbol, the taegeuk in Korean. It also used special ink on the number 5,000 in bottom right-hand corner of the bill’s reverse side, appearing different colors depending on the angle in which it is seen.

On the reverse side, the bank wrote the letters ``5,000 won’’ and ``Bank of Korea,’’ discernable only by a microscope. The note has an unexposed fluorescent silver strip on both sides. The color of the 5,000-won note can also appear reddish-yellow from its usual yellowish brown.

In addition, the bank changed the shape of the BOK governor’s seal at the center of all banknotes from a circular to a rectangular shape for the first time since banknotes were introduced in 1950.

The red, circular-shaped seal has been considered one of the remaining vestiges of Japanese imperialism. After its establishment in June 1950, the BOK began issuing bills that were modeled on Japanese bills. The color of the seal was also changed from red into reddish-yellow.

The reported number of bogus 5,000-won banknotes shot up 1,301.5 percent to 4,639 during the first half of the year, compared to 331 over the same period in 2004. The BOK has said this was due to insufficient anti-forgery features on the 5,000-won note.

jj@koreatimes.co.kr