Alphabiz - Blue House Senior Civil Affairs Office Closely Monitoring Tax Probe into Hana Financial, Sources Say

Main Building and Grand Garden of the Blue House. (Photo: Yonhap News Agency)

[Alpha Biz= Kim Sang Jin] South Korea’s presidential Blue House Senior Civil Affairs Office is reportedly closely overseeing the National Tax Service’s (NTS) special tax investigation into Hana Financial Group and Hana Bank, according to multiple sources.

Based on reporting by Alpha Economy on May 10, the Senior Civil Affairs Office has been tracking in detail the progress of the probe led by Investigation Bureau 4 of the Seoul Regional Tax Office, which began on May 8.

An official familiar with internal matters at the Blue House said, “While the investigation is formally focused on examining the appropriateness of executive compensation and advisory fee expenses, it is widely understood to be part of a broader effort led behind the scenes by the civil affairs line to dismantle entrenched financial cartels.”

President Lee Jae-myung had sharply criticized the financial sector during a Cabinet meeting on May 6, stating, “Financial institutions operate in an oligopolistic manner while lacking a sense of public responsibility,” and adding that “the mindset that making profits alone is sufficient is itself problematic.”

Just 48 hours after the president’s remarks, Investigation Bureau 4—often referred to as the NTS’s “central investigation unit”—launched the probe into Hana Financial’s headquarters.

Han Chi-ho, an economic commentator and Ph.D. in public administration, noted, “Given that the measure came just two days after the president’s criticism of the financial sector’s lack of public accountability, it will carry significant implications for the industry. In other words, the special tax investigation into Hana Financial appears to bear the characteristics of a planned probe reflecting the president’s intent.”

Alphabiz Reporter Kim SangJin(ceo@alphabiz.co.kr)