The amount of banknotes currently in circulation in South Korea reached a record high in January, the central bank said Wednesday.

Outstanding banknotes came to 103.5 trillion won ($90.6 billion) as of the end of January, up 6.1 trillion won from the end of 2016, according to the Bank of Korea.

Outstanding banknotes refer to actual bills in circulation and are different from cash in circulation, which partly reflects market liquidity.

The BOK attributed the rise in the amount of banknotes in circulation to the increased issuance of 50,000-won bills.

Last year, the BOK issued 23 trillion won in 50,000-won bills, the largest amount since 2009 when South Korea began to print the highest denomination bill.