South Korea's National Tax Service is investigating 19 corporations and their owners for using company-owned supercars for personal gain [1].
The probe targets a systemic abuse of corporate vehicle registration to hide assets and evade taxes. By registering luxury cars under business names, owners can deduct expenses and avoid the gift taxes associated with transferring high-value assets to family members.
Investigators are focusing on 90 supercars [1] owned by these entities. The agency is examining allegations of tax evasion totaling 300 billion won [1]. These investigations follow the 2024 implementation of a mandatory lime-green license plate system [1], designed to make corporate-owned luxury vehicles easily identifiable to the public and authorities.
Authorities identified the vehicles after spotting them at high-end locations, including casinos, hotels, and golf course parking lots [1]. The probe aims to uncover the concealment of overseas funds and the illegal avoidance of gift taxes through the private use of corporate assets.
In one specific instance highlighted by the investigation, a company vehicle was purchased for an estimated 3.6 billion won [1]. The National Tax Service is now determining if such expenditures were legitimate business costs or personal luxury acquisitions disguised as corporate investments.
The crackdown focuses on the period following the 2024 license plate mandate. The lime-green plates were introduced specifically to discourage the use of corporate funds for personal luxury, as the distinct color serves as a social and regulatory signal that the vehicle is a business asset [1].
“The agency is examining allegations of tax evasion totaling 300 billion won.”
This investigation signals a shift toward aggressive enforcement of the 2024 lime-green license plate policy. By utilizing public visibility as a tool for auditing, the South Korean government is attempting to close a long-standing loophole where corporate tax deductions were used to subsidize the lifestyles of wealthy executives and their families.
