Gyeonggi Province Seizes 59.1 Billion Won in Financial Investment Assets from Major Tax Delinquents

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park No-hun] After investigating investment details of major tax delinquents through securities firms, Gyeonggi Province detected and seized 59.1 billion won in financial investment assets including stocks and funds held by 1,398 delinquents.

As a result of intensive investigations into transaction records at 25 major domestic securities companies held by approximately 37,000 high-amount local tax delinquents in the province over 10 million won from September for about four months, the province confirmed assets totaling 59.1 billion won (3,699 cases) belonging to 1,398 delinquents (with delinquent amounts of 83.8 billion won), including 54.6 billion won in stocks (including 1.2 billion won in overseas stocks), 1.3 billion won in funds, and 2.5 billion won in deposits.

Over the next two months, the province will encourage delinquents to voluntarily pay their overdue taxes. For those who refuse voluntary payment thereafter, the province plans to send official notices to securities firms to forcibly sell seized assets and pursue collection procedures.

Major cases detected show that Mr. A, chairman of a mid-sized company who owed 12 million won in property tax, had 14 billion won invested in stocks and deposits seized, while Mr. B, former head of a bio-venture company who owed 130 million won, was caught after investing 700 million won in stocks.

Mr. C, an executive of a sports association who owed 11 million won in local income tax, had 300 million won in assets detected from stocks and fund investments, while Mr. D, a doctor owing 11 million won, was also found to possess 200 million won in assets including stocks and comprehensive asset management accounts (CMA).

Kim Min-kyung, director of the Tax Justice Division of Gyeonggi Province, said, "Despite continuous payment demands, many high-amount tax delinquents who claimed they had no money were found to be investing hundreds of millions of won in stocks in this investigation," adding, "The delinquents detected this time will be designated as special management targets with serious moral hazard regarding taxes, and we plan to collect aggressively, including conducting additional home searches if they refuse payment to the end."