National Assembly's fiscal committee holds national audit of National Tax Service

'Taxability reviewed based on publicly available materials'

National Tax Service Commissioner Lim Gwang-hyeon answers lawmakers' questions during a national audit by the National Assembly's fiscal and economic planning committee at Government Complex Sejong on Tuesday. [Yonhap]
National Tax Service Commissioner Lim Gwang-hyeon answers lawmakers' questions during a national audit by the National Assembly's fiscal and economic planning committee at Government Complex Sejong on Tuesday. [Yonhap]

National Tax Service Commissioner Lim Gwang-hyeon said Tuesday that the agency had determined President Lee Jae Myung's sale of an apartment in Bundang was not subject to taxation.

Lim made the remarks during a national audit of the NTS by the National Assembly's fiscal and economic planning committee, after People Power Party lawmaker Bae Jun-young said the transaction — involving a large private debt between individuals — was one the NTS had pledged to verify and that it raised issues under tax law.

"Regarding the president's case, our relevant division reviewed taxability based on materials disclosed in the media and reported back that it was not subject to taxation," Lim said.

Earlier this year, President Lee and his wife Kim Hye-kyung sold an apartment they jointly owned in Bundang-gu, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province for 2.9 billion won ($2.17 million), while registering a 1.777 billion won mortgage against the buyers as debtors.

Opposition lawmakers criticized Lee, who has championed tighter lending regulations, for allegedly circumventing those rules through private financing to reap a large profit.

When Bae cited online posts claiming that people who had copied the president's transaction structure were subsequently investigated by the Seoul Metropolitan Tax Investigation Bureau 3, Lim said, "The fact that Investigation Bureau 3 went in would suggest the buyers were young or there was some other reason," adding that "a judgment would require looking at the precise facts."

Meanwhile, Lim responded to Democratic Party lawmaker Ahn Do-geol's warning that the NTS was becoming a target of AI-based hacking by saying the agency was taking thorough precautions given that it handles sensitive personal information belonging to many citizens.

Lim added that the NTS had established an AI hacking response task force and would work with specialist agencies including the National Intelligence Service and the Ministry of Interior and Safety to build a triple-layered security management system, pledging to do its utmost to develop and implement security measures.


joze@heraldcorp.com