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Korean large firms’ investment in tax havens amounts to $32 bn from 2008-2016

Collected: 2017.10.31

Distributed: 2017.11.01

Source: Go Direct

Big South Korean corporate names have made more than 36 trillion won ($32 billion) in so-called direct investment in markets traditionally known as tax havens over the past nine years, raising suspicion about the purpose of the capital transaction.

According to ruling Democratic Party Rep. Park Gwang-on citing data he collected from the National Tax Service, Bank of Korea and Export-Import Bank of Korea, Korean large companies transferred 594 trillion won from 2008 to 2016 to tax haven countries including the Cayman Islands, the Virgin Islands, Bermuda, the Bahamas and Lichtenstein. Just 428.4 trillion won of the investment returned to Korea.

The Korean firms’ direct investment to the countries reached 36.1 trillion won, the data showed. The money excludes bills for export or import and funds sent to invest in a third country. It is mainly used to establish companies or factories and to purchase real estate. Total direct investment by Korean large firms in these economies more than tripled from 1.6 trillion won in 2008 to 5.8 trillion won last year, according to the data.

The jump in the direct investment to tax havens has become a problem for governments around the world as the fund is often fabricated for the purpose of dodging taxes or creating slush funds. Tax havens provide zero or ultra-low tax rates and confidentiality to offshore investing.

By Jung Seok-hwan and Choi Mira

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