Kim Chang-gi, Commissioner of the National Tax Service, "We will innovate electronic tax administration including the introduction of AI counselors"

National Tax Service, 2024 Nationwide Tax Office Chiefs Meeting
Full-scale Introduction of AI Search and Counselors

Kim Chang-gi, Commissioner of the National Tax Service (NTS), announced on the 15th, "We will introduce artificial intelligence (AI) tax consultation to enable all taxpayers to use it anytime and anywhere, taking South Korea's electronic tax administration to the next level of innovation."

On the same day, Commissioner Kim presided over the 2024 National Tax Office Chiefs Meeting at the Government Sejong Complex, emphasizing this point. The Tax Office Chiefs Meeting is a gathering to share practical measures with chiefs nationwide to ensure the smooth implementation of this year's national tax administration operation plan announced earlier and to pledge successful mission completion.

At the meeting, Commissioner Kim stated, "This year, the economy is expected to recover centered on semiconductors and exports, but the revenue conditions remain challenging. To ensure the stable procurement of the revenue budget, which is the NTS's core task, we must meticulously manage the tax revenue progress and contingencies while creating an environment where all citizens can file their taxes faithfully without inconvenience."

Kim Chang-ki, Commissioner of the National Tax Service, is speaking while presiding over the '2024 National Tax Office Chiefs Meeting' at the Government Sejong Complex on the 15th.

The NTS plans to invest 30 billion KRW over the next two years to advance the Hometax system. The core is AI. This year will be the inaugural year for introducing AI technology, which has been aggressively applied in the private sector recently, into Hometax, with plans to fully implement AI search functions and AI consultants.

Specifically, they will implement an intelligent search function applying generative AI technology so that taxpayers can find the services they want at once. If a search term is entered incorrectly, it will be automatically corrected, and not only search results but also similar queries related to the search term will be provided. Additionally, AI will search and summarize numerous materials in real time, not only on Hometax but also on private platforms such as Naver and YouTube, supporting easy access to related videos.

Starting from the comprehensive income tax filing in May this year, Hometax AI consultation will be piloted. The AI consultant will convert the taxpayer's voice into text, analyze the inquiry using generative AI, and then generate the most optimal answer to guide the taxpayer. The NTS expects that AI consultants will handle simple inquiries such as usage and screen navigation, which account for about 65% of consultation calls, significantly reducing taxpayers' waiting times.

The Hometax interface will be simplified, and customized menus will be selectively provided according to taxpayer types to make it easier for taxpayers to use the service. Currently, Hometax offers about 5,000 screens and 800 services. During the income tax filing period, when taxpayers log in, individuals will see the amount of tax to be paid or refunded and have immediate access to the filing menu, while tax agents will be provided with a dedicated menu for tax agents.

Furthermore, the NTS plans to support Korean companies expanding overseas and foreign companies in Korea through "K-Tax Diplomacy," leveraging its elevated status as the host of the 53rd Asia-Pacific Heads of Tax Agencies Meeting scheduled for the second half of the year.

Alongside this, Commissioner Kim ordered a strong response by concentrating investigative capabilities on malicious tax evasion that undermines market economy principles and threatens the livelihoods of ordinary citizens. He said, "Tax evasion acts that exploit areas closely related to the lives of ordinary people, such as illegal private loans, stock price manipulation, and multi-level marketing fraud, must be strictly punished using all means available to the NTS. I also urge strengthening on-site collection activities against high-value and habitual tax delinquents to thoroughly uncover hidden assets."

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