President Lee Jae-myung on the 11th ordered a sharp expansion of personnel for operating the National Tax Delinquency Management Corps under the National Tax Service, saying, "If necessary, even do a supplementary budget (extra budget)." The National Tax Service plans to launch a dedicated delinquency unit starting next year to improve the efficiency of asset seizure and confiscation, and the directive is to immediately raise its size to around 4,000 people in consideration of job creation effects as well as tax recovery.
In the afternoon, the president received a work report from the National Tax Service, an external agency, at the Sejong Convention Center in Sejong following the Ministry of Economy and Finance. It was the first ministry work report since taking office. Praising National Tax Service Commissioner Lim Kwang-hyun by saying, "The National Tax Service is really working hard these days," the president repeatedly called for expanding personnel, saying, "The delinquency management corps helps in terms of tax justice and in easing unemployment." In particular, recalling time in office as Seongnam mayor and Gyeonggi governor, the president said, "It is by no means a loss to immediately increase the level to 3,000–4,000."
The president said, "When you contact delinquents (back when I was mayor or governor), some people had forgotten or didn't know, and some thought things would somehow work out," adding, "The additional taxes collected more than covered the (collection staff) labor costs." The president continued, "In Seongnam, 150 people collected several times their labor costs," and said, "Even if you pay 3 million won to hire someone and they collect only 2.5 million won, it is fiscally better to pay that person a normal wage than to leave the person unemployed and provide unemployment support."
The president also said, "This is about helping the unemployed, creating jobs, securing finances, and realizing tax justice," adding, "In fact, even if it incurs a slight loss, delinquency management should be done right away. Do it immediately on a large scale." The president went on, "In some countries, people think, 'You can skip paying a loan shark, but you can't skip paying taxes.' That's how it should be. Track high-amount habitual delinquents to the end," and also ordered the preparation of a plan to integrate the collection management of public institution delinquencies. Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik also replied, "The presidential office will oversee (the personnel expansion)."
Regarding non-tax revenue, the president ordered an overhaul of the system to require late fees depending on the period. The president said, "There are cases where non-tax revenue does not increase in burden even if there are arrears," adding, "Even after one year, three years, or five years, people pay the same amount in principal (without late fees), so they say paying early is foolish. That system needs to be fixed."