NTS Office begins special inquiry

The National Tax Service (NTS) office said July 20 that it has launched a special inquiry into 242 people suspected of tax evasion, including business owners which promote excessive consumption and those leading luxurious lives.

Subject to the special investigation were 45 manufacturers of expensive and luxurious articles, 40 disco club and "room salon" owners, 28 owners of country houses and other high-priced assets and 25 people who charged too much on their credit cards in foreign countries.

The NTS also said it would conduct a thorough investigation into how some people were able to send their young children on overseas study programs without any obvious means of income.

The NTS said their family members would also be subject to tax audits.

Based on an internal investigation, the NTS has decided to verify whether 29 popular teachers at educational institutes in the Kangnam district properly filed their tax reports.

Since June, the NTS has been conducting an investigation into 106 "room salons" to determine whether they took part in illegal credit-card practices by setting up credit card-affiliated businesses on paper.

The NTS said it is investigating 31 of these venues in cooperation with the prosecution and the police. The office will confirm whether 21,566 extravagant credit card users paid with the cards at authorized businesses and will hold an inquiry into 1,861 businesses suspected of setting up ghost cards.

The NTS said it would make a phased inquiry into other tax evaders who are not the focus of the present investigation.