National Tax Service Commissioner Im Gwang-hyeon announces the agency's tax administration plan at the 2026 National Tax Office Directors' Conference at Government Sejong 2 Complex. [NTS]
National Tax Service Commissioner Im Gwang-hyeon announces the agency's tax administration plan at the 2026 National Tax Office Directors' Conference at Government Sejong 2 Complex. [NTS]

More than four in 10 high-end corporate-owned homes subject to the comprehensive real estate tax were found to have been used as private residences or for personal purposes by controlling shareholders and their families, the National Tax Service said Sunday. The agency views the so-called "emperor residence" practice as a warning sign of broader tax evasion and plans to launch intensive audits of companies where violations are confirmed.

NTS Commissioner Im Gwang-hyeon posted the findings Sunday on his X account under the title "Normalizing the abnormal: We will correct the emperor residence practice," disclosing the results of a full review of high-value corporate housing.

The NTS reviewed all 2,639 corporate-owned homes exceeding the publicly assessed value threshold of 900 million won ($646,000) — the level at which the comprehensive real estate tax applies — and larger than the standard national housing size.

Of those, 1,097 properties — 41.6 percent of the total — were used as residences or for private purposes by controlling shareholders and their relatives, after excluding 1,157 units held for rental and 385 used as employee dormitories or for other business purposes.

The average publicly assessed value of the homes reviewed exceeded 2 billion won. Some 453 properties carried assessed values above 3 billion won, and 12 exceeded 10 billion won. The most expensive single property had an assessed value of more than 20 billion won.

Companies caught providing such properties for private use by their owners ranged widely — from small and medium-sized enterprises with annual sales in the tens of billions of won to large conglomerates with revenues in the tens of trillions of won.

"Under current tax law, the benefit and maintenance costs of a company-provided residence used by an investing executive or their relatives are clearly defined as taxable," Im said. "Nevertheless, irregular rent-free occupancy has persisted as a common practice in parts of the industry."

Among the cases Im cited, some companies quietly provided ultra-luxury apartments in Gangnam and Yongsan, Seoul — prized for their Han River views — as upscale residences for owners or their children, while keeping the arrangement an open secret from rank-and-file employees.

Im also described a real estate speculation pattern in which individuals transferred high-value personal properties to their companies to avoid multi-home ownership regulations, then continued living in them.

Im confirmed that some companies purchased luxury condominiums worth more than 10 billion won in the corporation's name, ostensibly for employee welfare, only for the owner's family or select executives to use them privately — leaving ordinary employees with no access.

Im characterized all such private use as abnormal conduct and a significant warning sign of tax evasion risk across the corporate sector.

"We plan to conduct rigorous tax audits covering the overall compliance of companies where violations are confirmed," Im said. "We will also expand NTS scrutiny to the full range of corporate fund embezzlement, including the rent-free provision of luxury condominiums, overseas housing for executives' children studying abroad, and tuition support."

He added that the agency would use the findings as an opportunity to draw a clear line for companies where the boundary between corporate public interest and the owner's private gain has been blurred. "We will realize tax justice and build a fair society where the law-abiding majority — not the privileged few who play by their own rules — are respected," he said.

An NTS official said the review was a follow-up measure at the agency level stemming from an anti-corruption policy council meeting that President Lee Jae-myung chaired on Friday.


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