The E-Sylum:  Volume 8, Number 32, July 24, 2005, Article 32

KOREAN GRANDMA'S MOLDY STASH REDEEMED

"Not a few of the 3,450 people who applied to exchange
damaged banknotes this year are beneficiaries of windfalls,
the Bank of Korea said Tuesday. It said one person in
Youngcheon, North Gyeongsang Province exchanged
damaged bills worth W18 million (about US$18,000) their
father had buried in the backyard after selling land. Another
man in Incheon exchanged W7 million his mother had
hidden under the floorboards, while yet another swapped
W9 million his late father had tucked away in a closet.

The central bank said Tuesday W485 million of burnt or
tainted banknotes were exchanged for crisp new bills in
the first half of the year.

Well-preserved ashes were the most frequent cases, with
some 1,301 people exchanging burnt bills worth W224
million. The bank said a man identified by his surname
Kang mistook W4 million he made from selling a cow for
trash and incinerated the bills before realizing his error -
luckily before the banknotes became unidentifiable.

In other cases, 754 people damaged bills by keeping them
under the floor or in a microwave oven. If less than 25 percent
of a banknote is damaged, the BOK repays the full value. If
less than 60 percent is damaged, it pays half. "

To read the full story, see: Full Story

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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