Gijang County in Busan Collects 4.6 Billion KRW in Large-Scale Delinquent Taxes, Up 557%

Dedicated Operation of the 38 Tax Collection Task Force Team
Successful Settlement of Delinquent Taxes in the Osiria Tourism Complex

Gijang County (Governor Jeong Jongbok) announced on August 4 that it had collected 4.6 billion KRW in large-scale delinquent taxes in the first half of this year through intensive collection activities led by the "38 Tax Collection Task Force Team." This figure represents a 557% increase compared to the same period last year (700 million KRW).

In January, Gijang County became the first among Busan's basic local governments to establish the "38 Tax Collection Task Force Team," dedicated to managing large-scale and habitual tax delinquents. The team has since conducted intensive collection activities targeting those who owe more than 3 million KRW in back taxes.

Due to the recent economic downturn, high interest rates, and rising prices, the amount of large-scale delinquent taxes (over 3 million KRW) surged from 1.7 billion KRW at the end of 2019 to 13.1 billion KRW at the end of 2024, an increase of 7.7 times. During the same period, the proportion of large-scale delinquent taxes among all delinquent taxes also rose from 25% to 70%.

To address this issue, the county implemented various measures, including: conducting status investigations by tax item and amount; special management of delinquents with more than 30 million KRW in arrears; prompt public auctions of seized assets; administrative sanctions such as providing information to the Korea Credit Information Services and imposing travel bans; and investigations into criminal tax cases.

The county also launched a special settlement for property tax delinquencies by development companies within the Osiria Tourism Complex, collecting a total of 1.27 billion KRW from a lodging facility developer, including both long-term arrears and property tax for the current year. In addition, by designating secondary tax liability for major shareholders and investigating criminal tax cases, the county secured 280 million KRW from the individual representative of a dissolved corporation who was effectively without assets.

Governor Jeong Jongbok stated, "We will continue to carry out fair and strong collection activities against chronic and habitual tax delinquents so that diligent taxpayers do not feel a sense of relative deprivation. We will do our best to ensure fiscal soundness and foster a healthy tax payment culture in the local community."

In the second half of the year, Gijang County plans to actively pursue the public auction of delinquent vehicles, tracking of hidden assets, investigations into the evasion of delinquent dispositions and fraudulent acts, as well as home searches and the seizure of movable property.

Gijang County Office.