Among Tax Haven Countries, Singapore Ranks First in Holding Korean Stocks

Democratic Party's Kang Byung-won "Strict Response by Financial Authorities and International Cooperation Needed"

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] Singapore has been identified as the country holding the largest amount of domestic stocks among tax havens. A tax haven is a country or region that does not tax a substantial portion of actual income. Among investors from tax havens, there are numerous suspicions of so-called 'black-haired foreigners' who establish paper companies locally to evade taxes and then bring funds back into the country.

According to data submitted by the Financial Supervisory Service to Kang Byung-won, a member of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, as of July this year, tax haven countries held a total of 118.54 trillion KRW worth of domestic stocks.

Among tax haven countries, Singapore held domestic stocks worth 41.69 trillion KRW. Luxembourg (40.03 trillion KRW), Switzerland (13.05 trillion KRW), and the Cayman Islands (12.88 trillion KRW) followed. The total number of foreign investors with tax haven nationalities was 10,987.

Among them, the largest number came from the Cayman Islands (3,866), followed by Luxembourg (2,560), Malaysia (1,137), and the Virgin Islands (1,112).

Assemblyman Kang said, "Offshore tax evasion in tax havens can lead to manipulation of internal transactions, disguised foreigners using anonymity, and unreported fund transactions, disrupting the domestic market order and causing adverse effects." He added, "Strict responses from financial authorities such as the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service, as well as international cooperation, are necessary."

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