Two arrested for shoddy counterfeit bills

A man is seen shopping with counterfeit money at a market in Milyang, South Gyeongsang Province on Dec. 24, 2014. / Yonhap

Daegu police arrested two men Wednesday for allegedly making and circulating counterfeit 50,000 won bills.

The two men, identified by their surnames Chung and Kim, both in their mid-20s, allegedly created the bills using a color printer, used them at markets in Busan and Milyang, South Gyeongsang Province.

According to the police, the two learned how to counterfeit money from an inmate while in prison. They bought the printer and 13,500 sheets of paper after being released.

They stopped the scheme soon after, however, because clerks were suspicious of the bills, the police said.

The bills “did not have a smooth texture,” and the portrait of Sin Saimdang, the female artist during the Joseon Kingdom who appears on the bill, could not be seen when held up to the light, the police said.