[뉴스후] Yoon Seok-yeol’s government is suffocating ‘Kakao’ in every direction… The National Tax Service launches a special tax investigation
President Yoon Seok-yeol. Photo = President’s Office Website
[인포스탁데일리=김영택 기자] “We respect the autonomy and creativity of companies, but this is based on the premise of a fair competition system in the market itself. If it is distorted in a serious monopoly or oligopoly, or if it is distorted in the state of infrastructure, the state must take the necessary measures institutionally for the benefit of the people. “
On the 17th of last month, President Yoon Seok-yeol met with reporters in front of the president’s office and said this while receiving questions about the massive service disruption of Kakao (KS:).
Last month, a fire at Pangyo SK’s data center caused a kakao mess, and great social confusion ensued. Evaluations came from different places that Kakao’s platform share is significant and the damage is greater due to the monopolistic dominance of the market.
Naturally, President Yoon Seok-yeol made a decisive comment in the context that the state should respond if the market was distorted in a serious monopoly or oligopoly of Kakao.
The Fair Trade Commission as well as the National Tax Service are putting omnidirectional pressure on Kakao, showing a strong will to regulate the platform.
Photo = Kakao Bank
On the 24th, the National Tax Service launched a special tax investigation on Kakao’s ties. The background has been pointed out, and the industry interprets it as a flash signal to strangle Kakao.
Unlike regular tax investigations, special tax investigations are carried out without prior notice when corporate tax evasion or the formation of slush funds is suspected. This is the reason why the 4th investigation center of the Seoul Regional Tax Service is called ‘the serious reaper of the financial world’ or ‘the central investigation department of the National Tax Service’.
The 4th Bureau of Investigation conducted a special tax investigation this week against Kakao’s key partners such as Kakao Entertainment and Kakao Games (KQ:). All of these subsidiaries are companies that have been criticized by society as ‘octopus-style expansion’.
In June last year, the National Tax Service also conducted a special tax investigation on K Cube Holdings and Ground X, in which founder Kim Bum-soo owns 100% of the shares. Ground X is a blockchain subsidiary of Kakao.
Kim Dae-jong, a professor of business administration at Sejong University, said, “In the Ground X case, a penalty was imposed after it was discovered that Crust Universe, a blockchain corporation founded by Kakao in Singapore, had omitted sales revenue.”
Fair Trade Commissioner Han Ki-jeong (right) and Kim Beom-soo, founder of Kakao. Photo = News 1
Along with this, the Fair Trade Commission is facing sanctions related to Kakao Mobility franchise taxi driving, so Yoon Seok-yeol’s government investigation of Kakao is being conducted at the same time.
Meanwhile, Kakao plans to reveal measures to prevent recurrence, such as technical causes of service failures and response errors, sooner or later. The announcement will be made directly by Nam Gung-hoon, co-chairman of the Emergency Response Committee’s Recurrence Prevention Measures, who resigned as a representative after taking responsibility for the situation.
Choi Yang-oh, head of the ISD Corporate Policy Research Institute, explained, “The Yoon Seok-yeol administration, including the Fair Trade Commission and the National Tax Service, are putting pressure on Kakao from all directions, so Kakao has no choice but to deepen his concerns about the preparation of improvement measures.”
Reporter Kim Young-taek site0103@infostock.co.kr
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