Alphabiz - Korea’s Tax Authority Launches Special Tax Probe into Meritz Securities

Photo courtesy of Yonhap News

[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] South Korea’s National Tax Service (NTS) has initiated a special tax investigation into Meritz Securities, according to financial industry sources.

Officials from the Seoul Regional Tax Office’s Investigation Bureau 4 have been dispatched to the company’s headquarters in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul, to secure accounting records and related materials.

Investigation Bureau 4 is a unit that handles non-routine probes, focusing on suspected tax evasion and slush funds rather than regular audits. Authorities are said to have identified potential tax irregularities at Meritz Securities, prompting the launch of the probe.

Earlier, on May 8, the NTS also initiated non-regular tax investigations into Hana Financial Group and Hana Bank.

With the latest probe coming just three days after the previous investigations, market observers are raising the possibility that tax scrutiny could expand across the broader financial sector.

Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)