Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang signs banknotes and wallets. AFP/Yonhap
“You don’t have any money in your wallet.”
A joke that Nvidia Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang made while signing a fan’s wallet has gone viral. The episode has also fueled curiosity over whether “doing the same thing in Korea would be punishable,” after it was reported that Huang personally signed a banknote and gave it away as a gift.
According to industry sources Thursday, Chinese-language media including Hong Kong’s Phoenix Weekly reported that Huang received a request to sign a wallet while meeting fans at the “Computex 2026” venue in Taipei, Taiwan, on Sunday.
One fan asked Huang to sign their wallet. Taking the wallet, Huang opened it slightly to peek inside before joking, “You don’t have any money.”
After finishing the signature, Huang smiled toward those around him and said, “Ladies, this person has no money at all in their wallet,” adding, “If you’re looking for a rich husband, don’t look here,” turning the scene into a sea of laughter.
Huang then reportedly took a 1,000 Taiwan dollar (about 49,000 won) bill from his own wallet, signed it personally, and gave it as a gift to women serving as event attendants.
Huang’s signature carries more meaning than a simple souvenir. As Nvidia has risen to become one of the world’s top companies by market capitalization amid the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, Huang has also joined the ranks of world-class star executives. In fact, items bearing Huang’s signature have drawn high interest in second-hand trading markets and auction markets.
Would signing a banknote be punishable in Korea? The answer is ‘No’
So would writing a signature or scribbling on a banknote be subject to punishment in Korea?
Banknotes rendered unusable after being defaced with graffiti. Courtesy of the Bank of Korea
To put the conclusion first, even scribbling on a banknote is not subject to criminal punishment. Article 53 of the Bank of Korea Act does prohibit damaging, melting, or defacing currency, but this provision applies to coins. In other words, there is no provision that directly punishes the damaging of banknotes (bank notes).
Banknotes with scribbles or partial damage can be exchanged for new money at the Bank of Korea according to certain standards. If the remaining area is three-quarters or more of the original size, the full face value can be exchanged for new money; if it is two-fifths or more but less than three-quarters, half the value can be exchanged. If the remaining area is less than two-fifths, it is treated as void.
However, just because it is not subject to punishment does not mean banknotes may be damaged at will. The Bank of Korea takes the position that currency should be used cleanly, given its nature as a public good. Banknotes with severe scribbles or damage are classified as damaged currency and may cause inconvenience, such as being rejected during circulation.
Damaged currency disposed of last year alone totaled 2.8404 trillion won
In fact, the scale of damaged currency disposed of after being recovered last year reached a total of 2.8404 trillion won. This amounts to an enormous quantity of 364.01 million notes.
By type, banknotes—centered on 10,000 won and 1,000 won notes—were disposed of at 295.18 million notes, worth 2.8286 trillion won by value. Coins were tallied at 68.82 million pieces, worth 11.8 billion won.
If all the damaged currency disposed of last year were laid end to end, the total length would be about 44,043 kilometers, enough to circle the Earth more than once. Stacked vertically, the height would reach 147,017 meters, about 17 times the height of Mount Everest.
However, the scale of damaged currency declined 23.3% from the previous year (474.89 million notes). The Bank of Korea sees the declining trend in cash usage as having also influenced the decrease in damaged currency.