The Seoul Metropolitan Government has publicly disclosed the names of 12,686 high-value tax delinquents who owe more than 10 million won in local taxes. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 22 (Korea Bizwire) – The Seoul Metropolitan Government has publicly disclosed the names of 12,686 high-value tax delinquents who owe more than 10 million won in local taxes, with the largest individual debtor being Oh Moon-cheol, 65, the former CEO of Bohae Savings Bank, who owes 15.17 billion won.
The city government published the list on November 20 on its official website, revealing names, business names, ages, addresses, and outstanding tax amounts of individuals and corporations who have failed to pay local taxes exceeding 10 million won for more than one year.
The latest disclosure added 1,599 new names to the previously published list of 11,087 delinquents, bringing the total unpaid local taxes to 1.41 trillion won.
Among the newly listed tax dodgers, 1,183 are individuals owing a combined 62 billion won, while 416 are corporations owing 26.8 billion won. The average unpaid amount per entity is 56 million won.
The age distribution of individual delinquents shows that those in their 50s make up the largest group at 28.4% (336 people), followed by those in their 60s at 27.7% (328 people), those 70 and above at 20.9% (247 people), those in their 40s at 16% (189 people), and those in their 30s and younger at 7% (83 people).
“The list includes individuals whose combined unpaid taxes across different jurisdictions exceed 10 million won, even if their Seoul tax debt alone is below that threshold,” a city official explained.
Oh, the former Bohae Savings Bank CEO, has maintained his position as the top individual tax delinquent since 2017, having evaded payment for eight years.
Following him are Ahn Hyuk-jong, 41, from Dongdaemun District, owing 13.42 billion won, former Hansol Group Vice Chairman Cho Dong-man with 8.23 billion won in arrears, and former K&L Valley CEO Lee Dong-kyung owing 7.30 billion won.
Among corporate debtors, JU Development and JU Network, both led by former JU Group Chairman Ju Soo-do — currently imprisoned for fraud involving billions of won — top the list with unpaid taxes of 11.32 billion won and 10.95 billion won respectively.
The highest new addition to this year’s list is Lee Geum-yeol, 55, known as the “Demolition King,” who owes 1.41 billion won.
The city government plans to continue enforcement measures against high-value tax delinquents, including home searches, property seizures, credit reporting, travel bans, criminal complaints, and business restrictions.
Additionally, working with the Korea Customs Service, the city will pursue collection of unpaid taxes by seizing luxury goods purchased abroad by delinquents.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
