BOK provides smaller money ahead of Chuseok holiday amid pandemic

SEOUL, Sept. 29 (Yonhap) -- The Bank of Korea (BOK) said Tuesday it has injected a smaller amount of bank notes this year than a year earlier ahead of the Chuseok fall harvest holiday as demand for cash declined amid the new coronavirus outbreak.

The BOK provided a net 5.02 trillion won (US$4.3 billion) worth of bills to financial institutions during the 10 working days before the holiday, down 0.5 percent compared with the same period last year.

This year's Chuseok holiday, the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving, runs from Wednesday to Friday.

The BOK said the demand for cash appeared to have fallen as more money has already been injected in the market and people are refraining from visiting their hometowns during the holiday amid concerns about COVID-19.

During the traditional holiday, many people usually travel across the country to meet their family members and relatives.

But ahead of this year's Chuseok holiday, health authorities have called on people not to visit their hometowns as it seeks to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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