Yeongdeungpo-gu Awarded Minister of the Interior and Safety Prize for Excellence in Local Finance 2020

Selected as an Excellent Case at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's '2020 Local Finance Best Practices Presentation Contest'... Collected 790 Million KRW in Delinquent Taxes through Communication and Cooperation, Significantly Expanding District Finances

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Yeongdeungpo-gu (Mayor Chae Hyun-il) received the Minister of the Interior and Safety Award at the ‘2020 Local Finance Best Practice Presentation Contest’ hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety on the 17th.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety holds the Local Finance Best Practice Presentation Contest annually to discover and share excellent cases where local governments actively and efficiently manage local finances based on ideas gained from the field, aiming to promote nationwide dissemination.

In this contest, out of a total of 255 administrative cases in the field of local taxes nationwide, 35 excellent cases passed the first round of document screening. The second round was conducted as a non-face-to-face evaluation through a 10-minute video presentation using PowerPoint, slides, performances, and plays.

As a result of the final evaluation, excellent cases were selected in categories such as ▲expenditure efficiency ▲revenue increase ▲other fields, and the district was also selected and awarded the Minister of the Interior and Safety Award.

This achievement marks three consecutive years of winning since 2018.

The district was selected as an excellent case in the local tax field by collecting the entire delinquent tax amount of 790 million KRW by the end of December 2019 through continuous consultation with trust companies and delinquent tax collection activities.

The 790 million KRW collected by the district was related to property taxes and others that were delinquent due to a large commercial building constructed near Yeongjung-ro in 2005. By collecting this, the district showed exceptional perseverance and determination to finally resolve a problem that had accumulated over nearly 10 years.

This building had been left unfinished since its construction due to issues such as fraudulent sales and business closure liquidation by the construction company and street vendors illegally occupying the access road.

As a result, 411 unsold trust properties had about 800 million KRW in delinquent property taxes and other charges.

Accordingly, the district’s collection department formed a dedicated task force for high-amount delinquent tax collection and proceeded with strong public auction procedures for the seized real estate. Through multiple consultations and communications with taxpayers, voluntary payment was induced, leading to the full collection of the delinquent amount.

A key factor in achieving this success was the Yeongjung-ro pedestrian path maintenance project, a major initiative of Yeongdeungpo-gu during the 7th local government administration.

The effect of the pedestrian path maintenance helped revive the surrounding commercial district’s economy, which increased the value of the real estate seized due to delinquency, thereby creating conditions that encouraged taxpayers to voluntarily pay their delinquent taxes.

Chae Hyun-il, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, stated, “This award is a model case of cooperative governance where the success of the Yeongjung-ro pedestrian path maintenance project, a key project of the 7th local government administration, synergized with the urgent issue of high-amount delinquent tax collection. We will enhance residents’ benefits through seamless communication and collaboration between departments and create a more open Yeongdeungpo.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.