Business Owner in His 40s Receives Suspended Prison Sentence for Issuing or Receiving False Tax Invoices

A business owner in his 40s who issued or received false tax invoices has been sentenced to a suspended prison term.

On April 19, Judge Kwon Soyoung of the Seoul Northern District Court's 5th Criminal Division announced that Kim (42), who was tried on charges of violating the Punishment of Tax Offenses Act, was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for two years.

Kim, who is the CEO of an internet subscription and telecommunications business, issued a false tax invoice worth approximately 150 million won to a client on November 26, 2020. It was also revealed that over the course of one year, he either issued or received a total of eight false tax invoices amounting to about 1.7 billion won.

Judge Kwon stated, "The defendant's actions hinder the state's legitimate exercise of tax collection rights and disrupt the sound order of commercial transactions, making the nature of the crime egregious." The judge also noted, "The total supply value of the false tax invoices issued or received by the defendant amounts to approximately 1.7 billion won, which is a substantial sum."