Kim Dongyeon: "We Will Thoroughly Pursue and Recover Choi Eunsun's Unpaid Taxes"

Kim Dongyeon, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, has announced that he will thoroughly pursue and recover the unpaid taxes owed by Choi Eunsun (age 79), the mother of Kim Keonhee.

On the 19th, Governor Kim stated in a post on his social networking service (SNS), "Gyeonggi Province is waging an all-out campaign to collect large, chronic, and intentional tax delinquencies," emphasizing, "Choi Eunsun is no exception."

He added, "Establishing tax justice is the starting point for restoring social trust," and reiterated, "We will track this to the end and ensure recovery."

Earlier that day, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety released a list of 10,621 individuals, including 9,153 new local tax delinquents and 1,468 local administrative sanctions and surcharge delinquents. The number of individuals disclosed increased by 3.4% compared to the previous year.

Governor Kim Dongyeon of Gyeonggi Province's post and photo on his SNS on the 19th

Choi Eunsun topped the list of new local administrative sanctions and surcharge delinquents this year. She was found to have failed to pay a surcharge of 2.505 billion won for violating the Act on the Registration of Real Estate under Actual Owner's Name.

The Jungwon District Office in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, had previously imposed a surcharge of approximately 2.73 billion won after being notified by the Uijeongbu District Prosecutors' Office in April 2020 of Choi's violation of the Real Estate Registration Act. The reason was that in March of the same year, Choi purchased 553,231 square meters of land in Dochon-dong, Seongnam, but registered ownership under the names of her business partner’s son-in-law and a corporation.

In response, Choi filed a lawsuit against the Jungwon District Office in March 2021 seeking to cancel the surcharge, claiming that she did not use a nominee. However, she lost in the first trial, and subsequently lost both the appeal and the Supreme Court case.

Meanwhile, local taxes are levies imposed by local governments, such as acquisition tax, property tax, and local income tax. Local administrative sanctions and surcharges refer to penalties and charges for illegal acts, such as surcharges, enforcement charges, and compensation, as well as contributions imposed in connection with certain public interest projects.