Gold bars, cash bundles in kimchi boxes: Millions seized from S. Korea tax dodgers

SEOUL – Nearly 700 high-income tax evaders have been uncovered in South Korea, with one of them found hiding millions of won in kimchi containers and another driving a Rolls-Royce while dodging taxes.

South Korea’s National Tax Service (NTS) on Nov 21 revealed a list of 696 people suspected of evading taxes.

They include 216 who concealed assets despite having the means to pay, 81 who transferred wealth to family members through fraudulent transactions, and 399 who lived extravagantly while avoiding paying taxes.

The authorities have collected approximately 2.5 trillion won (S$2.4 billion) from these tax dodgers as at October. The NTS said it will continue to track and collect hidden assets of delinquent taxpayers.

In one case, a 92-year-old sold property and failed to pay capital gains taxes, while transferring proceeds from a land sale into multiple bank accounts held by his children.

The authorities conducted simultaneous raids on four of the children’s homes, recovering 1.1 billion won in cash and gold bars hidden in drawers and kimchi containers.

Another case involved the chief executive of a cosmetics manufacturing company, who owed tens of billions of won in taxes but had been driving a Rolls-Royce leased with a large security deposit and high monthly payments. He was said to have been living in a luxury apartment in Seoul while neglecting his tax responsibilities.

The authorities have since seized the apartment and are tracing the source of his funds to determine how he financed the lease deposit and monthly payments.

The NTS also revealed another case where the head of a real estate marketing firm failed to pay billions of won in value-added tax. But when he won a jackpot while gambling at Kangwon Land Casino, he attempted to hide the payout by converting them into cashier’s cheques and foreign currency.

Additionally, there has been a rise in cases of tax defaulters hiding money in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, whose prices have recently surged, according to the authorities.

The NTS said it has seized 28.7 billion won worth of cryptocurrencies in the second half of 2024. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK