South Korea’s newly appointed Commissioner of the National Tax Service (NTS), Lim Kwang-hyun, has declared an aggressive campaign to collect an outstanding $80 billion in unpaid national taxes. This initiative aims to thoroughly investigate all delinquent taxpayers and reinforces the government’s commitment to securing financial resources to fulfill President Lee Jae-myung’s campaign pledges.
During his inauguration ceremony at the NTS headquarters on July 23, Commissioner Lim stated, “With cumulative tax arrears exceeding $80 billion, addressing tax delinquency is an urgent priority.” He announced plans for a comprehensive nationwide investigation into tax arrears to “reclassify all delinquent taxpayers.”
Commissioner Lim emphasized a dual approach: “For high-value, habitual tax delinquents, we must ensure the perception is firmly rooted that we will mobilize every available means to collect their assets, not only domestically but also those secretly hidden overseas.” Conversely, he added, “For those delinquent due to livelihood challenges, we should move towards supporting them to get back on their feet economically, for example, by linking them with welfare ministries.”
According to the National Tax Statistics Portal, cumulative national tax arrears stood at $80.4 billion as of last year. A significant portion of this—83%, or $66.2 billion—is categorized as “collection deferred,” meaning collection is effectively deemed impossible. Commissioner Lim’s strategy involves immediately establishing a new “National Tax Arrears Management Unit” within the NTS. This unit will conduct a full-scale investigation into all tax delinquency cases to re-categorize taxpayers based on their ability to pay and the nature of their arrears.
