Seoul City Publishes List of 14,739 Habitual Tax Delinquents... Delinquent Amount Reaches 1.7 Trillion Won

A Total of 14,739 People Including 2,557 Newly Disclosed... Delinquent Amount of 1.6936 Trillion Won
Number of Subjects Increased by 885 Compared to Last Year, Delinquent Amount Decreased by 25.1 Billion Won
Highest Delinquent Amount Among Newly Disclosed is 19 Billion Won... Average Delinquent Amount per Person is About 55 Million Won

Top 10 Individuals

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government will publicly disclose on the 16th the names, business names, ages, addresses, and delinquent amounts of 14,739 high-amount habitual tax delinquents who have failed to pay overdue taxes exceeding 10 million KRW and have been delinquent for over one year.

The information to be disclosed this time pertains to individuals and corporations who have been delinquent for over one year as of January 1 of this year with overdue amounts exceeding 10 million KRW, and who have not paid despite being given an opportunity to explain for more than six months without any special reasons. The list of high-amount habitual local tax delinquents will be simultaneously disclosed nationwide from 9 a.m. on the day through the websites of local governments including Seoul and the tax payment site, WETAX.

According to Seoul City, among 3,211 newly reviewed candidates for disclosure, 2,823 were selected by the Local Tax Deliberation Committee as subjects for disclosure. After sending prior notification letters to these delinquents, 120 of them paid a total of 3.1 billion KRW in overdue taxes. Seoul City extracted 3,211 new candidates for disclosure as of January 1, conducted fact-finding investigations, and after the Local Tax Deliberation Committee’s review on March 28, sent prior notification letters to 2,823 individuals, granting a six-month period for payment and explanation.

There are 2,557 delinquents newly included in this year’s disclosure list who have been delinquent for over one year with amounts exceeding 10 million KRW, with a total delinquent amount of 140.4 billion KRW. Additionally, previously disclosed delinquents with overdue amounts exceeding 10 million KRW will also be disclosed this time, bringing the total number of individuals disclosed to 14,739 with a delinquent amount reaching 1.6936 trillion KRW. As of the end of September, the high-amount delinquents managed by Seoul’s 38 tax collection divisions total 23,900 people with 1.924 trillion KRW in overdue taxes.

Among the 2,557 newly disclosed delinquents included for the first time this year, 2,068 are individuals and 489 are corporations, with an average delinquent amount of approximately 55 million KRW per person.

Notably, this year, the law was amended so that for those with combined nationwide overdue amounts exceeding 10 million KRW and delinquent for over one year, the metropolitan local government with the largest delinquent amount selects and discloses the subjects. Accordingly, 734 individuals combined from Seoul City and its districts and 1,165 nationwide, totaling 1,899 people with 74.7 billion KRW in delinquent amounts, were included in the disclosure list.

Seoul City plans to strengthen enforcement measures against high-amount delinquents who deliberately evade tax payments, not only by disclosing their names but also through rigorous actions such as home searches and seizure of movable property, entrusting delinquent tax collection to the Customs Service, travel bans, prosecution referrals, restrictions on business licenses, and provision of credit information, along with intensified tracking and search activities.

Seoul City stated, “For unscrupulous high-amount habitual delinquents who intentionally hide assets or live lavishly without fulfilling their tax obligations, we will combine name disclosure with forced collection efforts such as home searches and seizures, as well as strong administrative sanctions like travel bans. With the firm resolve to ‘pursue to the end and ensure collection,’ we will strive to establish a healthy tax culture and realize tax justice so that the majority of citizens who faithfully pay their taxes do not feel relative deprivation.”

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