National Tax Service Conducts Special Tax Audit on Korean Air... Estimated Inheritance Tax Related to Hanjin Family

[Asia Economy Reporter Yu Je-hoon] The National Tax Service (NTS) has launched a special tax investigation into Korean Air, drawing attention to the background of this move.

According to the aviation industry on the 20th, the Seoul Regional Tax Office's Investigation Division 4 dispatched investigators to Korean Air's headquarters in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, in the afternoon to collect tax and accounting-related materials.

Generally, regular tax audits for large corporations occur every five years, which has sparked interest in the reasons behind this special tax investigation. Korean Air's last regular tax audit was in 2017. Notably, the NTS has recently been avoiding tax audits as much as possible to support industries affected by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

It is known that the NTS is examining inheritance tax issues concerning the family of the late Cho Yang-ho, chairman of the Hanjin Group. Inheritance tax is imposed by the NTS reviewing the declarations submitted by heirs who inherit an estate and determining the final tax amount. If the declaration lacks sufficient explanation or there is suspicion of evasion, a tax investigation is conducted.

After the late Chairman Cho passed away in 2019, the Hanjin family inherited the estate with a ratio of 1.5 to his wife Lee Myung-hee, advisor of Jungseok Enterprise, and 1 each to the three siblings including Chairman Cho Won-tae. During this process, they declared approximately 270 billion KRW in inheritance tax. It is reported that they plan to pay the inheritance tax in installments over five years using the installment payment system. A company official stated, "The investigation on this day has been completed, and it is unknown whether there will be additional investigations," adding, "It is presumed to be related to inheritance tax."

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