Seoul City to Auction 22 Vehicles Owned by High-Value Tax Delinquents Online

22 Imported Cars Including Audi and Large Trucks to be Auctioned Online
Online Auction Conducted via Seoul City Partner Auto Mart Website

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 1st that it will directly sell 22 seized vehicles belonging to high-value and habitual tax delinquents who have not paid their taxes despite continuous payment reminders, through an online auction.

The vehicles up for auction include various types such as luxury sedans including the foreign car Audi A6, RV vehicles, and large trucks. The car auction will be conducted online through the AutoMart website, with the bidding period from August 9 to August 16.

Those wishing to purchase a vehicle can check detailed information such as vehicle photos, inspection details, auction methods, expected sale price (minimum auction price), auction date and time, and vehicle storage location on the AutoMart website, which is Seoul’s internet auction partner, during the bidding period.

Additionally, the condition of the vehicles can be directly inspected by visiting the Incheon storage facility where the vehicles are kept until the announcement period ends on August 16.

The Audi owner who is delinquent on taxes has unpaid personal local income tax (capital gains) and five other cases totaling 12 million KRW since 2019. The large truck, which has the highest appraised value among the auction vehicles, is owned by a corporation engaged in manufacturing and selling machinery and equipment, and has unpaid corporate local income tax and one other case totaling 16 million KRW since 2019.

A Seoul city official explained, "Seoul and its 25 autonomous districts conduct auctions of seized vehicles regularly every year. Over the past three years, 240 vehicles have been sold, collecting 671 million KRW in delinquent taxes. This year, we plan to actively promote auctions of seized vehicles through special crackdowns on habitual delinquent vehicles."

Meanwhile, Seoul has designated June as a special crackdown period for habitual delinquent vehicles and, by the 30th, is conducting focused inspections on habitual delinquents and illegal vehicles (known as 'dapocha') in cooperation with 25 autonomous districts more than four times. Prior to this, 41,227 delinquent taxpayers were simultaneously sent notices warning of vehicle seizure. Since the issuance of these notices, 10,505 vehicle tax delinquents have immediately paid 2.939 billion KRW.

Lee Byung-han, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Finance Bureau, stated, “For livelihood-type low-income taxpayers who are economically struggling due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, we are postponing tax collection measures. However, for unscrupulous habitual delinquents who avoid payment despite having the ability to pay and operate luxury passenger cars, we will enforce seizure and towing of vehicles and collect delinquent taxes through auctions in the interest of tax justice.”