Gyeonggi Province Recovers 27.7 Billion Won from Delinquent Taxpayers Through Court Escrow Investigation

[Suwon Ilbo=Park Nohoon] In a large-scale investigation by Gyeonggi Province, a significant number of delinquent taxpayers holding court escrow funds totaling up to tens of millions of won while failing to pay non-tax revenue such as administrative fines, penalties, contributions, and enforcement fees have been identified.

According to Gyeonggi Province on the 11th, the province conducted a comprehensive investigation of approximately 170,000 people who had failed to pay non-tax revenue of 500,000 won or more over the past year, and seized court escrow funds totaling approximately 6.29 billion won held by 2,162 of them.

The seizure of court escrow funds is an effective collection method targeting delinquent taxpayers whose whereabouts are unknown or whose assets do not appear on paper records.

Through this seizure, the province recovered a total of 27.7 billion won in delinquent payments, consisting of 25.9 billion won in voluntary payments and 1.8 billion won in enforced collection.

In a notable case, Company A, based in Suwon, had failed to pay an administrative fine of 180 million won imposed in 2019 for violations of the outdoor advertisement law. In this investigation, court escrow funds of 47 million won were identified and fully seized and collected through enforcement.

Company B, based in Icheon, had failed to pay an administrative fine of 9 million won related to the construction industry. In this investigation, court escrow funds of 11 million won were confirmed and seized, with the full delinquent amount paid through enforced collection.

Mr. C, residing in Goyang, was assessed a penalty of 2.3 million won in 2013 for violating the real estate real-name law but failed to pay it and emigrated to the United States. In this investigation, court escrow funds were identified and the full delinquent amount was collected.

For court escrow funds where enforced collection is currently impossible due to lawsuits between delinquent taxpayers and third parties, the province plans to sequentially recover all delinquent amounts by applying related legal provisions such as forced subrogation rights (the right of a third party to obtain or exercise rights held by another in place of that person's legal position) in accordance with applicable laws.

Choi Won-sam, director of the Tax Justice Division at Gyeonggi Province, stated, "Most of the delinquent taxpayers identified in this investigation are people who could not pay despite continued payment reminders, claiming they lacked funds," and added, "We will do our best to establish a climate of faithful tax compliance through thorough management of delinquent taxpayers in the province."