Kindergarten and Elementary Students Earning Over 100 Million Won as CEOs? 20 Minor CEOs with Annual Salaries of 100 Million Won

Seoul 231 Cases, Gyeonggi 61 Cases, etc.
"Illegal and Evasive Inheritance Exploiting Tax Laws"

Including children under the age of 5, there are 20 minor business owners nationwide who have earned an annual salary exceeding 100 million won over the past five years. This has raised calls for strengthening crackdowns on illegal inheritance schemes.

According to data titled 'Income Distribution of Minor Business Owners by Age Group Over the Past Five Years,' received on the 7th by Jin Sun-mi, a member of the National Assembly's Education Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, from the National Health Insurance Service, as of August 2024, there are 360 minor business owners nationwide. This count includes only those registered as workplace subscribers under health insurance business sites, and joint representatives are also included among business owners.

[Image source=Getty Images Bank]

By income, there are 20 minor business owners earning over 100 million won annually, 41 earning between 50 million and 100 million won, and 299 earning 50 million won or less. Notably, among those earning over 100 million won annually, the largest group is aged 11 to 15 with 12 individuals, followed by 5 aged 16 to 17, 2 aged 6 to 10, and 1 under the age of 5.

Analysis of business addresses showed that the highest number of minor business owners are based in Seoul with 231 individuals. Gyeonggi has 61, Incheon 22, Busan 18, Jeonbuk 9, Gyeongnam 8, Daegu 5, Daejeon and Sejong 2 each, Gangwon and Chungnam 1 each, while Gwangju, Ulsan, Chungbuk, Jeonnam, Gyeongbuk, and Jeju have no minor business owners.

Assemblywoman Jin Sun-mi emphasized, "This cannot be seen as just a few isolated cases but is evidence that income inequality is widespread throughout society. We must strictly crack down to prevent illegal inheritance schemes exploiting the fact that minors can legally register as business owners under tax law."

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