Late Honorary Chairman Shin Kyuk-ho Wins Lawsuit Over 200 Billion KRW Gift Tax Dispute

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The late Shin Kyuk-ho, Honorary Chairman of Lotte Group, won a lawsuit challenging the National Tax Service's imposition of gift tax amounting to 200 billion KRW.

On the 4th, the Administrative Division 4 of the Seoul Administrative Court (Presiding Judge Jo Mi-yeon) ruled in favor of the plaintiff in the case filed by Honorary Chairman Shin against the Jongno Tax Office, seeking cancellation of the gift tax imposition.

The gift tax in question is related to the fact that Honorary Chairman Shin held a 6.2% stake in Lotte Holdings, the Japanese holding company of Lotte Group, under a borrowed name and sold it in 2003 to Kyungyumul San, where Seo Mi-kyung, his common-law partner, was the major shareholder.

Earlier, during the prosecution's investigation into management irregularities of the Lotte family in 2016, the gift tax evasion was uncovered, and the National Tax Service imposed a gift tax of 212.6 billion KRW on Honorary Chairman Shin. In response, Honorary Chairman Shin filed a lawsuit claiming the gift tax imposition was unjust. His side argued that in cases of simple name trust without tax avoidance intent, gift tax is not payable, making the taxation improper.

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