Ministry of Interior and Safety conducts nationwide crackdown on habitual tax delinquents Thursday

Local governments to run intensive delinquency clearance campaign through end of December

Officers seize a license plate (left) and conduct a joint crackdown at a highway toll plaza (right). [Ministry of Interior and Safety]
Officers seize a license plate (left) and conduct a joint crackdown at a highway toll plaza (right). [Ministry of Interior and Safety]

The Ministry of Interior and Safety announced Friday that it conducted a joint crackdown Thursday with the Korean National Police Agency and Korea Expressway Corporation, targeting vehicles with habitual unpaid auto taxes, vehicle-related fines and toll fees at nine major highway toll plazas nationwide — including those in Guri-Namyangju, Hongcheon and West Cheongju — as well as other locations across the country.

The operation identified 2,023 delinquent vehicles carrying a combined 1.38 billion won ($1.03 million) in unpaid dues. Authorities seized 1,946 license plates and encouraged on-site payment of outstanding amounts.

The crackdown targeted vehicles with two or more unpaid auto tax installments, as well as those with 300,000 won or more in overdue fines for parking violations or failure to carry mandatory liability insurance.

Owners of flagged vehicles were directed to pay on the spot, and license plates were removed from vehicles whose owners declined to pay, in accordance with legal requirements.

However, vehicles deemed essential for livelihoods — such as trucks and vans — were offered installment payment plans to encourage voluntary compliance.

Vehicles that remain delinquent after plate removal, as well as those with fraudulent registrations, are subject to seizure and surrender orders, followed by forced towing and public auction, with proceeds applied to the outstanding debt.

Local governments plan to run an intensive "second-half delinquency clearance campaign" through the end of December, using Thursday's joint crackdown as the starting point, focusing all efforts on reducing unpaid amounts.

During this period, local governments will pursue aggressive collection measures against high-value and habitual delinquents, including bank account and wage garnishments, virtual asset tracking and requests to freeze withdrawals.

For vehicles with overdue auto taxes in particular, authorities will significantly expand nationwide nighttime and early-morning license plate seizure operations in apartment parking lots and commercial districts.

Song Gyeong-ju, director general of the ministry's Local Fiscal and Economic Affairs Bureau, said "creating a society where conscientious taxpayers are respected is the starting point of tax justice," adding that the ministry would "foster a tax-paying culture where citizens who pay their taxes faithfully feel respected and valued, while building a just local tax administration that supports those facing financial hardship."


thlee@heraldcorp.com