29 Sep, 2007 - Korea, South: With explosive growth of financial assets, monetary statistics carry too many zeros and will soon have 16 zeros as assets are likely to surpass the 10 quadrillion won mark in two years.

The central bank plans to issue a new 100,000 won banknote in 2009 to reduce the inconvenience in financial dealings and cost of circulating single-use cashier's checks, which are widely used for larger transactions. The country's highest denomination 10,000 won bill was introduced in 1973.

Many economists have called on monetary authorities to redenominate the won to reflect changes in the world's 13th largest economy.

In the early days of the Roh Moo-hyun administration in 2003, the central bank proposed issuing a larger banknote and redenominating the local currency. But the Ministry of Finance and Economy opposed it for fear of inflationary pressure.

The country's outstanding financial assets are projected to exceed 10 quadrillion won (10,000 trillion won) in 2009 as more companies and individuals invest in stocks and other financial products, while shying away from the real estate market.

According to the Bank of Korea (BOK) Friday, the total financial assets held by the government, businesses and households stood at 7,573.4 trillion won as of the end of June, up 6.1 percent from three months earlier. It was up 15.7 percent, or 1,030 trillion won, from a year earlier.

The central bank expects outstanding financial assets to reach 8,862 trillion won next June and 10.14 quadrillion won (10,140 trillion won) by the first half of 2009 if assets continue to grow at the current pace.

A BOK official said businesses and individuals invested heavily in the real estate market. "But a growing number of Koreans will increasingly diversify their investments by shifting greater funds to stocks and other financial products."