Kim Du-kwan, "Former Tax Office Chiefs Accused of Posthumous Bribery... Tax Administration Council Is Key"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] Allegations have been raised that the 'Tax Administration Council' operated by frontline tax offices under the National Tax Service (NTS) was used as a lobbying channel. Through the Tax Administration Council, affiliated private members reportedly received special favors such as tax investigation postponements, and in return, the tax office chiefs received consulting fees for one year after retirement.

On the 6th, Kim Du-gwan, a member of the National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, stated, "I confirmed from Kim, the CEO of Boryeong Yakpum and a member of the Seoul Jongno Tax Office Tax Administration Council, that the 'payment of consulting fees' is true."

The consulting fees, which had been paid as a customary practice, were given in a manner where council members received various benefits from the jurisdictional tax office, and after the tax office chief retired, consulting fees ranging from 500,000 to 2,000,000 KRW per month were paid for one year.

According to the 'List of Tax Administration Council Members by Tax Office in Seoul' submitted to Kim's office by the NTS ahead of the national audit, 509 private members belong to the Tax Administration Councils operated by 27 frontline tax offices in Seoul. On average, 19 members participate per tax office.

Kim explained, "A private member of the Tax Administration Council in Gangnam said in response to the question 'Do you pay consulting fees?' that 'Yes. Former tax office chiefs receive about 1,000,000 KRW per month, and former section chiefs about 500,000 KRW,' adding, 'They pay for one year per person. This is the case nationwide.' He also secured testimony that private members of the Tax Administration Council in the eastern region of Gyeonggi Province pay consulting fees of 500,000 KRW per month."

There have also been frequent cases where NTS officials were employed by private companies affiliated with the Tax Administration Council after retirement. Kim, the head of Haenam Tax Office, was caught by the Prime Minister's Office for receiving expensive gift sets from the Tax Administration Council (violating the Kim Young-ran Act), underwent a first investigation by the Public Service Management Office of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, and the case has now been transferred to the NTS Audit Office.

The NTS has seven regional tax offices nationwide and 130 frontline tax offices under these regional offices. These tax offices operate Tax Administration Councils as channels for public interaction.

Kim defined the post-retirement bribery allegations against former tax office chiefs as the 'NTS Gate' and said, "The investigative agencies should conduct a full-scale investigation into the NTS Gate allegations involving former tax office chiefs nationwide."

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