Seongnam City to Collect 79.5 Billion KRW in Delinquent Payments This Year

Seongnam City Hall Panorama

[Asia Economy (Seongnam) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Seongnam City in Gyeonggi Province has set this year's delinquent tax collection target at 79.5 billion KRW. This target amount corresponds to 31.3% of the total delinquent amount of 253.8 billion KRW, which includes local taxes (64.3 billion KRW) and non-tax revenues (189.5 billion KRW) carried over from the previous year to this year.

To achieve the target, Seongnam City will deploy a Delinquent Mobile Collection Team (12 members) and a Delinquent Status Investigation Team (20 members) to conduct customized collection activities according to the types of delinquencies.

The Delinquent Mobile Collection Team will conduct home searches and seize movable property and auction it for 424 habitual and chronic delinquents who have owed more than 3 million KRW for over two years (delinquent amount of 4.5 billion KRW).

If necessary, administrative sanctions such as public disclosure of names, travel bans, provision of delinquency data to credit information agencies, and restrictions on licensed businesses will be strengthened.

Small businesses with payment intentions and livelihood-related delinquents will be granted collection deferrals and encouraged to pay in installments to support economic activities and recovery. Delinquents without assets and payment ability will have their delinquent taxes deferred to improve the efficiency of tax administration.

The Delinquent Status Investigation Team will visit the homes of about 20,000 people who have small delinquencies of 2 million KRW or less for over one year (delinquent amount of 7.2 billion KRW) to inquire about the reasons for delinquency and encourage payment.

Delinquents found to be in difficult living conditions during the investigation process will be connected to social welfare officers at the local administrative welfare centers to receive necessary welfare services.

A city official stated, "Even amid difficult economic conditions of high inflation and high interest rates, we will maintain fairness with those who faithfully fulfill their tax obligations," adding, "We will focus on securing stable finances by conducting fair and reasonable tax administration activities."

Meanwhile, last year Seongnam City collected 77.2 billion KRW, which is 28.7% more than the delinquent tax and non-tax revenue collection target of 60 billion KRW.