Three secrets hidden in banknotes to prevent copycats
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Paper for India’s 50 rupee banknote is produced at a factory of the Korea Minting, Security Printing & ID Card Operating Corp. (KOMSCO) in Buyeo, South Chungcheong Province. The state-run company exports its banknote paper to countries including India, Indonesia and Peru. / Courtesy of KOMSCO
By Kim Jae-won
BUYEO, South Chungcheong Province — If you look at the left side of the 10,000 won banknote under the light, you may see a portrait of King Sejong and the number 10,000 hidden in the space. They are sealed in the paper even before the note is printed to prevent it from being copied.
“That is one of three secrets hidden in the banknote,” said Park Kyoung-taig, a director at the Korea Minting, Security Printing & ID Card Operating Corporation (KOMSCO), during a tour of the company’s factory in this old city, last week.
KOMSCO is a state-run company specialized in manufacturing banknotes and coins. The trip was offered by the company to 30 correspondents covering the Bank of Korea.
Park said that the 50,000 won note has two more secrets: a silver line and colored threads. In the left side of the 50,000 note, a 4-milimeter silver line is drawn on the paper, a sign guaranteeing that it is real. Part of the line is hidden inside the paper.
And small colored threads are scattered inside the paper, which are visible only under ultraviolet light, another technique to thwart counterfeits.
Thanks to the technologies, the company exports its banknote paper to countries, including India, Indonesia and Peru. It had provided banknotes to China before, but the country stopped ordering them after developing its own technology.
“About 10 countries in the world have such technologies. We are one of top five players in the market, along with those from the U.S., Italy and Russia,” said the director.
At the company’s factory, workers were making paper for India’s 50 rupee notes where a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi is hidden in the same way as King Sejong is concealed.
Buyeo was the capital of the Baekje Kingdom which governed the southwestern part of the Korean Peninsula for centuries until it was conquered by the neighboring Silla in 660.
Workers were proud that the factory is offering “the rice of the financial market” to overseas countries. Most of them are graduates of vocational high schools with excellent records.
“Many of them gave up chances to go to college to make money for their family,” said Park. “They are skilled workers and are proud of producing the banknotes.”
The banknotes are made of cotton paper manufactured at KOMSCO’s subsidiary in Uzbekistan, a key producer of cotton. As they are made of soft fiber, banknotes can regain their form after getting wet if they are dried properly, the company said.
Kim Hwa-dong, CEO of the state-run company, said that he is seeking new revenue sources to cope with the low local demand for banknotes as more and more people use credit and debit cards for payments.
The demand for hard currency is dwindling further as consumers also pay with their smartphones through mobile payment systems, such as Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.
He said the company is applying its copy-preventing technologies to making identification cards and passports. Developing security software programs is another business that the company is running.
“KOMSCO is focusing on developing information protection services and security technologies in the public sector, using our excellent digital security technologies,” said Kim. “We aim to contribute to strengthening the country’s competitiveness by making Korean society more trustworthy.”