'Parent Chance' High-Value Home Illicit Gift Detection... 358 People Under Intensive Tax Investigation

Kim Tae-ho, Director of the Asset Taxation Bureau at the National Tax Service, is briefing on the commencement of tax investigations on 358 individuals, including high-priced housing and multiple-home buyers, housing rental business operators who split rooms, and family members of company owners who acquired houses with corporate funds, on the 7th.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] #Case 1= Recently returned from studying abroad with minimal reported income, Mr. A. While acquiring a high-priced apartment worth several billion won, he claimed the acquisition funds came from a loan of several hundred million won from acquaintance Mr. B and profits of several hundred million won earned from selling miscellaneous goods online during his studies. However, the investigation revealed that Mr. A’s father transferred funds to Mr. B, who then sent the money to Mr. A and fabricated a false loan contract. The online sales were also fabricated, with the father sending money in advance to acquaintances who then transferred it back as if purchasing goods from Mr. A. Consequently, the National Tax Service imposed a gift tax of several hundred million won.

#Case 2= Mr. A, who operates an academy but reports minimal income. Upon investigation for insufficient source of funds after acquiring multiple apartments, it was found that Mr. A’s spouse, Mr. B, who works in finance, deposited acquisition funds into accounts under several academy employees’ names. The employees then transferred the money back to Mr. A under the pretense of returning excessive salaries, and Mr. A used these funds to acquire multiple apartments. The National Tax Service imposed a gift tax of several hundred million won.

The National Tax Service has identified numerous suspects of tax evasion, including those acquiring high-priced or multiple homes, landlords illegally remodeling (splitting rooms) houses, and family members of company owners acquiring homes with corporate funds, and has launched tax investigations.

According to the National Tax Service on the 7th, a total of 358 individuals are subject to this investigation.

Specifically, ▲ 209 individuals suspected of tax evasion such as down-contracts on pre-sale rights and disguised gifts during the acquisition of high-priced homes and commercial properties ▲ 51 individuals suspected of receiving gifted acquisition funds despite acquiring multiple homes without clear reported income ▲ 32 individuals including landlords who split rooms for rent and omitted cash sales, real estate agents who omitted brokerage fees, and family members of company owners who acquired homes by diverting corporate funds ▲ 66 individuals suspected of disguised gifts or other tax evasion based on suspicious data received from related agencies.

The National Tax Service plans to trace the flow of funds to the end by verifying financial transaction details to identify the source of acquisition funds. The investigation scope will be expanded to include relatives who lent funds, related businesses, and corporations to verify funding capacity, omission of business income, and appropriateness of accounting treatment.

Furthermore, if loans from relatives are confirmed to be legitimate borrowings, the National Tax Service will closely monitor whether the loans are repaid independently until all debts are fully settled.

In particular, if tax evasion through fraud or other illegal methods is confirmed during the investigation, strict measures will be taken under the 'Tax Crime Punishment Act.' If violations of real estate transaction laws such as name trusts are found, follow-up actions such as imposing fines will be promptly reported to relevant agencies.

Kim Tae-ho, Director of the Asset Taxation Bureau at the National Tax Service, stated, "The National Tax Service plans to further strengthen verification of the source of real estate acquisition funds and debt repayment processes," and added, "Filing taxes faithfully is the best way to reduce taxes, so we ask taxpayers to fulfill their tax obligations sincerely."

Meanwhile, last year the National Tax Service simultaneously investigated 1,543 suspects of various types of tax evasion related to real estate transactions and collected 125.2 billion won in additional taxes.

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