Despite steadily improving results and growing retained earnings, domestic manufacturer A froze employee pay for years. But the Oner family of this company was found to have bought high-end supercars worth hundreds of millions of won under the company's name. According to a National Tax Service audit, A owns 45 imported cars, including six high-end supercars priced at more than 300 million won each.
During the audit, it was also confirmed that A provided an interest-free lending of 20 billion won to a related-party corporation controlled by the Oner family to acquire virtual-asset mining machines. The Oner family held about 17 billion won in cash in overseas accounts under personal names but did not report the assets to the National Tax Service.
The National Tax Service said on the 28th it is launching tax audits into 19 corporations suspected of the "private misuse of corporate vehicles." The corporations under audit own 90 high-end corporate vehicles, worth about 30 billion won at market prices. The total amount the 19 corporations are suspected of evading through methods such as the misuse of corporate funds and de facto gifting reaches 300 billion won.
The audits come amid criticism that corporate officials have been flaunting high-end corporate cars with "light green license plates" on social media while using them for nonbusiness purposes. President Lee Jae-myung asked at the Cabinet meeting on the 20th, "Isn't it the case these days that someone buys a luxury imported car and the chairman's son or grandson drives it around personally?" In response, National Tax Service Administrator Lim said, "Driving supercars with differently colored plates is considered a 'flex' and has become a trend," adding, "We will launch audits soon."
The government, seeking to stop the private misuse of corporate vehicles, mandated "light green license plates" for corporate vehicles priced at 80 million won or more in 2024. According to the National Tax Service, the number of corporate-registered vehicles priced at 100 million won or more fell from 51,542 in 2023 to 33,960 in 2024, then edged up to 39,429 last year. The National Tax Service said, "As the misconception spreads that light green license plates are 'the true symbol of wealth,' corporations' purchases of high-end vehicles are again on the rise."
The owner of B, a domestic construction manufacturing and sales corporation included in the National Tax Service's tax audit list this time, bought three supercars worth 600 million won with company funds for personal use and then transferred them at low prices to a child's company. The child used the cars privately and, without performing any particular work, was found to have received about 200 million won in pay.
At cosmetics manufacturer C, the owner's spouse reportedly leased three supercars worth a total of 700 million won under the company's name for personal use. C was also was found to have overpaid about 1.5 billion won in labor costs to the owner's spouse and other family members. The owner's family also reportedly spent about 1 billion won on the corporate card for golf courses, luxury hotels, and gift certificates.
The National Tax Service said, "If we confirm acts such as the use of borrowed-name accounts or the fabrication of documentation to underreport sales or siphon off corporate funds, and intentional tax evasion is found during the audit, we will respond strictly, including filing complaints under the Punishment of Tax Offenses Act."