Former National Tax Service Personnel Dominating Alcohol Industry

Retired National Tax Service (NTS) officials are found to be occupying high positions at various alcohol-related organizations and corporations.

The NTS has long dominated the alcohol industry, but the exact situation was unknown to the public.

Donga Ilbo collected data on the 18th, which reveal that NTS-affiliated officials were in high-positions not only in alcohol-related organizations such as the Korea Alcohol & Liquor Industry Association (KALIA), but also in related corporations including brewing enterprises, sales enterprises, and bottle cap production enterprises.

KALIA chairman Sung Hee-Woong is an ex-tax director, and director Kim Sang-Soo was a former revenue chief.

In the case of the Korea Drinking Culture and Alcohol Research (KODCAR), which was established in 1997 through KALIA’s collection of funds from member enterprises for people’s preservation of health, chairman Sung Hee-Woong is concurrently working as the chief director, and high posts such as director, secretary general, and inspector, are all occupied by former revenue officials.

Korea Alcohol Inc.’s president Ji Chang-Soo, Seoan Alcohol Inc.’s president Kim Jung-Boo, and exclusive sales authorization owner Korea Alcohol Sales Co. Ltd.’s president Choi Sung-Yong are all retired NTS officials.

Considerable number of executives in Sam Hwa Crown & Closure Co. Ltd and Sewang Metal Ind. Co. Ltd. are also affiliated with NTS. Bottle, whose production enterprises buy, represent alcohol production and sales quantity, and provide date for basic statistics for alcohol tax levy.

Also, NTS is found to be still involved in the process of board selection in the Korea Liquor Wholesale Trade Central Organization after the chairman resigned following Donga’s recent `Suspicion over National Tax Service`s Systemic Involvement in the Election of the President of Liquor Business Organization` article.

An alcohol enterprise authority said, "Alcohol-related corporations are always under NTS’s check, so it becomes a lot easier if some of its officials take our positions."

"If NTS officials occupy high offices in alcohol corporations, they can indirectly and directly affect NTS policies according to their interests. For the advancement of the alcohol industry, NTS must stop, or at least reduce, influence from above over personnel management in the industry.", said alcohol industry experts.

Chi-Young Shin higgledy@donga.com