Sido Group chairman Kwon Hyuk to pay 790 billion won in unpaid taxes

Kwon Hyuk, chairman of Sido Group and South Korea’s top tax delinquent for 15 years, has agreed to pay approximately 790.2 billion won (roughly $580 million) in unpaid taxes. The National Tax Service announced that Kwon will first pay 100 billion won in cash, with the remaining balance to be covered by providing overseas vessels as collateral.

The recovery follows intensive efforts by the National Tax Service’s Special Task Force for High-Value Delinquents, which was established in January. The agency utilized international cooperation and information exchange agreements with various countries, including Liberia and Panama, to track assets hidden abroad. This marks the first historical instance in South Korea where such a large-scale long-term delinquency was recovered through the use of overseas assets as collateral.

Kwon had maintained his status as the nation’s leading delinquent since 2011, claiming a lack of domestic assets. Following a final court ruling in 2024 requiring the payment of 393.8 billion won in personal taxes, the chairman expressed a desire to contribute to the Korean economy. The National Tax Service plans to formalize its specialized investigation teams to prevent future large-scale tax evasion.