Koo Ja-geun "Moon Seung-wook, Minister of Industry Candidate, Suspected of Gift Tax Evasion"

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] It has been revealed that the deposit amounts of Moon Seung-wook, the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy nominee's two children in their 20s, have increased significantly compared to the income they reported over the past five years.

According to the office of Koo Ja-geun, a member of the People Power Party, on the 26th, an analysis of Moon's asset declaration data showed that the combined deposit amount (including insurance) held by his eldest son (28 years old) and eldest daughter (22 years old) was 269 million KRW.

The combined deposit amount over the past five years increased as follows: 49 million KRW in 2016, 64 million KRW in 2017, 78 million KRW in 2018, 150 million KRW in 2019, 217 million KRW in 2020, and 269 million KRW this year. This represents an increase of about 220 million KRW over five years. In particular, the eldest son held 90 million KRW in two life insurance policies, and the eldest daughter held 58 million KRW in two life insurance policies.

However, when looking at the actual income generated by the two children over the past five years, the total combined income was 66 million KRW. The eldest son reported income of 10 million KRW in 2015, 12 million KRW in 2016, 12 million KRW in 2017, 14 million KRW in 2018, and 15 million KRW in 2019. The eldest daughter reported income of 600,000 KRW in 2018 and 70,000 KRW in 2019.

Representative Koo pointed out, "Moon's two children in their 20s hold deposit amounts far exceeding their income, raising suspicion that Moon may have paid their bank deposits and life insurance premiums on their behalf," and added, "It is necessary to verify whether Moon properly paid gift tax."

Under current tax law, direct descendants must pay gift tax if they receive gifts exceeding 50 million KRW within 10 years.

Additionally, Representative Koo pointed out that the deposit amounts of the two children surged during Moon's tenure as Deputy Governor of Gyeongnam Province. In the asset disclosure data reported in April, just before Moon's appointment as Deputy Governor of Gyeongnam in 2018, the combined deposit amount of the two children was 78 million KRW. Subsequently, in the asset disclosure data reported in March, just before his resignation as Deputy Governor in May last year, the combined deposit amount of the two children increased by more than 100 million KRW to 217 million KRW.

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