It was found that the ’38 Tax Collection Division’, an organization dedicated to the collection of arrears in Seoul, has collected 3.6 trillion won in arrears in 20 years since its inception. Nine out of 10 Seoul citizens thought, “The punishment for large delinquents should be stricter.”
Seoul, high tax arrears ’20 Years’ War’
Provided by Seoul Metropolitan Government
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on the 4th, since its establishment in August 2001, the 38 Tax Collection Division has collected an average of 178.6 billion won in arrears annually. As of the end of July this year, 182.6 billion won, 92% of the annual collection target of 2010 billion won, was collected.
During this period, tax collection techniques developed gradually. The Seoul Metropolitan Government explained that various methods were used, from the seizure of movable property to the seizure of Internet domains, court deposits, bank deposit boxes, and garden arbors and chiefs. This year, local governments seized virtual currency for the first time, followed by seizure of copyrights and patents. On the other hand, credit recovery and micro-loans are provided for delinquent people who are experiencing economic hardship, and welfare projects are also linked.
Among the large delinquents were several former political and economic ‘big figures’. Lee Byung-wook, head of the Seoul 38 tax collection department, selected Choi Soon-young, former chairman of Shin Dong-a Group, who was in arrears of 3.89 billion won, as one of the ‘most vicious or delinquent delinquents’. In March, the city of Seoul searched Choi’s house in Seocho-gu, Seoul, and seized art and cash.
The lawsuit “Isn’t the confiscated Dongsan former Chairman Choi?”
However, after that, Choi’s wife and children filed a claim for confirmation of ownership against Choi in April, claiming that the property seized by the city of Seoul belonged to them. If former Chairman Choi loses in this lawsuit, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has seized the ‘third party’s property’ and must return the artworks.
Former President Chun Doo-hwan arrears about 47 million won in local taxes. In 2014, the city of Seoul recovered some of the taxes by auctioning paintings that were confiscated from the residence of the former president by prosecutors. Former Hansol Group Vice Chairman Cho Dong-man, who owed about 8.4 billion won in arrears, and former Hanbo Group chairman Jeong Tae-soo, who was 2.8 billion won in arrears, were also on the list of large delinquents worth billions of won. There is also the chairman of JU Group, famous for ‘multi-level fraud’.
Seoul citizens “Severe penalties for non-payment of taxes”
Provided by Seoul City.
In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the 38th Tax Collection Division, the city conducted an online survey of 1,000 Seoul citizens and found that many of them wished to increase tax collection. 74.8% of the respondents answered that ‘the level of administrative sanctions for tax delinquents is weak’, and only 3.2% answered ‘excessive’. In addition, 88.2% of respondents said that ‘the level of sanctions against large delinquents should be strengthened more than the current level’.
According to the survey, 21.5% of Seoul citizens have experienced arrears in their taxes at least once. Among them, the 18-29 age group accounted for the most at 31.8%. Most of the reasons for delinquency in their 20s were capital gains tax (national tax) and resident tax (10%) from capital gains tax when acquiring stocks or real estate. It is a tax delinquency due to the generation of property income inherited from parents.
The ’38’ of the 38 Tax Collection Division is derived from Article 38 of the Constitution, which stipulates the duty to pay taxes. At first, it was a team size, but in 2008, when Oh Se-hun was in office, it was promoted to a departmental unit. Currently, it is operated with 5 teams, 31 professional investigators, and 6 private debt collection experts. Mayor Oh said, “The 38 tax collection section is a modern version of cryptography,” and ordered, “Please show that Seoul and the Republic of Korea’s tax justice lives on through thorough collection of malicious and unconscionable delinquents.”
By Dr. Dr. Ra Park.sara@joongang.co.kr
