National Tax Service Commissioner Lim Gwang-hyeon presents the agency's tax administration plan at the 2026 National Tax Office Directors' Meeting at Government Sejong 2 Complex on Wednesday. [National Tax Service]
National Tax Service Commissioner Lim Gwang-hyeon presents the agency's tax administration plan at the 2026 National Tax Office Directors' Meeting at Government Sejong 2 Complex on Wednesday. [National Tax Service]

The National Tax Service will for the first time in its 60-year history establish dedicated teams linking delinquency tracking with tax audits — starting with the Seoul Regional Tax Office's Investigation Bureau 4 and other non-regular audit divisions. The agency said it will take strict action against high-value tax delinquents by simultaneously investigating asset concealment and tax evasion.

The NTS announced the plan Wednesday at Government Sejong 2 Complex during a national tax office directors' meeting chaired by Commissioner Lim Gwang-hyeon.

Lim shared with directors across the country the second-half priorities he had outlined in last month's ministry briefing. Key agenda items included the integrated collection of non-tax national revenue arrears to support fiscal innovation and a framework for fair and reasonable tax audit operations.

Dedicated "delinquency tracking and tax audit liaison teams" will be established at the Seoul Regional Tax Office's Investigation Bureau 4 and the Central Regional Tax Office's Investigation Bureau 3. Each team will handle major high-value delinquency cases in an integrated manner — conducting asset-tracing investigations, criminal probes into evasion of delinquency disposals, and non-regular audits covering offshore tax evasion and corporate fund diversions. The agency said the strengthened link between delinquency tracking and tax audits will crack down on sophisticated tax evasion by large debtors, identify hidden assets and collect outstanding taxes in full, upholding tax justice.

The NTS will also expand tax support for taxpayers struggling with high exchange rates, high oil prices and high inflation. It plans to extend value-added tax and corporate tax payment deadlines for start-up entrepreneurs and other businesses facing financial difficulties, and to prolong the suspension of tax audits for small business owners to ease their tax burden.

The agency also pledged to underpin South Korea's push to become an irreplaceable nation with a solid fiscal foundation. Tax revenue under NTS jurisdiction reached 218.6 trillion won ($154 billion) as of June — against a budget target of 406.9 trillion won, a collection rate of 53.7 percent — up 32.8 trillion won from the same period last year.

In the second half, the NTS will strengthen compliance support and tighten revenue management through major tax events — the VAT preliminary filing in October, interim payments for corporate tax in August and global income tax in November, and the comprehensive real estate tax in December — while operating delinquency management teams and integrating non-tax revenue collection to build a solid medium- to long-term fiscal base.

To that end, the agency will expand pre-filled and auto-completed tax returns, push forward an income tax filing support service that eliminates the need to visit a tax office in person, and enhance tax filing guidance and education services for digitally underserved populations. At the same time, it will concentrate revenue management resources on high-risk evasion areas such as unreported overseas trusts.

The NTS also plans to press ahead with innovation initiatives — transforming into an integrated fiscal revenue service and overhauling tax administration with AI — to prepare for the future of tax administration. Targeting full implementation of integrated non-tax revenue collection next year, the agency said it will actively support the legislative process to pass the relevant bill on the collection and management of non-tax revenue arrears within this year.

To support regionally led growth, the NTS will provide tax-based investment incentives for small and medium-sized enterprises relocating outside major cities, including dedicated tax consultation windows and priority processing of deduction and exemption consultations. It will also extend the regular tax audit deferral period for companies based in regional areas to up to three years.

To strengthen the global competitiveness of South Korean companies, the NTS plans to deepen tax administration partnerships with major trading partners — Japan, Vietnam and India — and emerging markets including Mexico and Kazakhstan, while actively resolving double taxation issues centered on national strategic industries such as semiconductors and energy. The agency also plans to launch a new one-stop overseas expansion strategy day, offering integrated guidance on overseas investment strategies and tax issue management.

Meanwhile, the meeting saw 95 million won in performance bonuses awarded for nine notable achievements, including the recovery of overseas hidden assets and the collection of offshore tax arrears. The top award of 20 million won went to a case in which officials identified hidden overseas assets held by a non-resident through an international information exchange request and, through cross-border collection cooperation, recovered hundreds of billions of won in outstanding taxes.

"Over the past six months, we have successfully carried out tax administration reform initiatives that began with voices from the field," Commissioner Lim said. "In the second half, I ask all of you — our office directors — to work together so that the NTS can lead fiscal innovation, practice fair tax administration, and support South Korea's great leap toward becoming an irreplaceable nation."


oskymoon@heraldcorp.com