A total of 912 counterfeit bills were found in the January-June period, up from 668 in the same period last year, according to the Bank of Korea.

The increase came as 469 10,000-won ($9) counterfeit bills with the same serial number were found.

In South Korea, the 10,000-won bill is the second-highest denomination behind the 50,000-won bill.

The central bank said 0.2 counterfeit bills were found for every 1 million banknotes in circulation, compared to 0.1 from a year earlier.

In 2016, the number of fake bills found stood at 0.3 for every million, which is very low compared to many other countries the BOK said. Corresponding numbers for Mexico was 65.3 with 18.6 being reported in Australia. (Yonhap)