Gyeongnam Province to Pursue High-Amount and Habitual Tax Delinquents to the End

Public Disclosure of Names, Business Restrictions, Travel Bans, and Detention System Implemented

Support Provided for Livelihood-Related Delinquents Including Installment Payments and Collection Deferrals

Gyeongsangnam-do announced on the 28th that it has established a plan to settle local tax arrears this year and will begin vigorous collection activities.

Out of the carried-over arrears totaling 230.4 billion KRW, including 46.7 billion KRW in provincial taxes and 183.7 billion KRW in city and county taxes, the collection target rate has been set at 35%, which is 0.5 percentage points higher than last year, and various activities will be carried out to exceed the collection target amount of 80.6 billion KRW.

In February, a meeting with city and county tax department heads was held to discuss ways to strengthen arrears collection capabilities, and practical training on public auctions was conducted for about 40 responsible officials, with plans to cooperate with Korea Asset Management Corporation to expand real estate public auctions.

Gyeongnam Provincial Government Office.
Photo by Lee Seryeong

The province plans to impose strong administrative sanctions such as travel bans and public disclosure of names on intentional high-amount and habitual tax delinquents, and will continuously manage and track them until collection is completed.

Provincial, city, and county-wide rapid collection task forces will be operated to strengthen on-site collection activities such as visits and investigations of delinquent taxpayers.

All assets including vehicles, real estate, financial assets, virtual assets, and salaries will be tracked and seized, and seized assets will be disposed of through public auctions and other means to settle arrears.

Measures such as public disclosure of high-amount delinquent taxpayers, restrictions on licensed businesses, and travel bans will be promoted, and from July this year, a detention system within 30 days for high-amount and habitual delinquents owing more than 50 million KRW will also be implemented.

Small businesses with payment intentions or livelihood-type delinquents will be supported for economic recovery through flexible collection methods such as installment payments.

The province plans to actively utilize legally permitted support measures to help delinquent taxpayers resume economic activities, including temporary return of vehicle license plates used for livelihood purposes, expansion of collection deferrals for small business owners and other small-scale entrepreneurs, release of seizures on vehicles recognized as lost, and release of seizures on financial deposits that have no practical benefit.

On the 16th, Gyeongnam Province selected 553 individuals subject to the first public disclosure list of high-amount and habitual local tax delinquents owing more than 10 million KRW through the Local Tax Deliberation Committee.

They will be given a six-month explanation period after prior notice, and those who pay more than 50% of the arrears within this period will be excluded from the disclosure list.

Shim Sang-cheol, head of the Taxation Department, said, “This year, due to domestic and international economic downturns, the number of livelihood-type and high-amount habitual delinquents is expected to increase. We will carry out strong collection activities against high-amount habitual delinquents and induce payment from livelihood-type delinquents through taxpayer support, implementing customized collection activities.”

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