Seoul City to Locate and Seize 5,767 Cases of 'Non-Property Rights' from High-Value Tax Delinquents

Comprehensive Survey on High-Amount Tax Delinquents' Unregistered Property Rights Conducted, 1,060 People and 5,767 Cases Confirmed
Notice of Tax Payment and Seizure Warning Sent by the 30th Before Seizure

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 15th that it confirmed the registration and acquisition of 5,767 intangible property rights by 1,060 high-amount local tax delinquents and has simultaneously sent notices of impending seizure of intangible property rights prior to seizure. Seoul conducted a full survey through the Korean Intellectual Property Office and the Korea Copyright Commission to identify whether high-amount delinquents hold intangible property rights.

Intangible property rights are divided into industrial property rights registered with the Korean Intellectual Property Office and copyrights registered with the Korea Copyright Commission. These rights allow exclusive use of intellectual creations and are also referred to as intellectual property rights and knowledge property rights.

According to the investigation conducted by Seoul, the intangible property rights held by high-amount delinquents include 3,595 cases of industrial property rights such as patents and trademarks held by 699 people, and 2,172 cases of copyrights such as literary and musical works held by 361 people. The total amount they have delinquent to date reaches 101 billion KRW.

According to local tax-related laws, tax delinquents are subject not only to seizure of real estate but also intangible property rights, and the seized intangible property rights are used to cover delinquent taxes through public auction.

A Seoul city official explained, "Although intangible property rights held by tax delinquents can be seized and disposed of by public auction according to local tax laws, active seizure has not been carried out because it was difficult to obtain seizure data and analyze practical benefits through third-party institutions. However, with the cooperation of related organizations, a comprehensive investigation was conducted."

Considering that tax delinquents may be using intangible property rights for economic activities amid the ongoing COVID-19 disaster situation, Seoul plans to send notices of delinquent tax payment guidance and impending seizure of intangible property rights simultaneously by the 30th without immediate seizure measures. If there is no intention to pay, follow-up measures such as seizure and public auction will be taken.

Lee Byung-han, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Finance Bureau, said, "As Seoul is playing a leading role nationwide in collecting delinquent taxes, including being the first local government in the country to seize virtual assets held by delinquents, this full survey and seizure of intangible property rights is expected to serve as a model case for other local governments." He added, "Going forward, Seoul will continue to track down and collect hidden assets of unscrupulous high-amount delinquents to create a taxpaying culture respected by sincere taxpayers."

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