The change in the National Tax Service goes beyond simply increasing collection efficiency and begins with an attempt to fundamentally change the paradigm of national financial management. To mark the second anniversary of the inauguration of the Lee Jae-myung administration, National Tax Service Commissioner Lim Kwang-hyun presented a vision to elevate the National Tax Service from a simple tax collection agency (NTS) to a comprehensive organization (KRS) responsible for overall national financial revenue. To this end, a delinquency management team covering national taxes and non-national tax revenues will be fully operational starting in July. This is an expression of the government's will to manage national resources more tightly and responsibly by unifying fragmented financial information. In addition, we are establishing a strategy to achieve administrative efficiency and people's convenience at the same time by introducing generative AI throughout taxation work to build a futuristic smart tax system that does not require taxpayers to visit the tax office.

This powerful administrative power is embodied in a ‘tweezers strike’ against large and habitual delinquents. The tax violation investigation into Chairman Kwon Hyuk of Shido Group, who has the disgrace of being the number one delinquent taxpayer in Korea, symbolizes the National Tax Service's firm determination to establish tax justice. The National Tax Service has taken extreme measures to forcibly investigate Shido Shipping by mobilizing search and seizure warrants from the court, and this is a sophisticated legal response that goes beyond simple tax collection and also takes criminal punishment into consideration. In particular, the information exchange and collection cooperation working agreement recently signed with the Liberia National Tax Service is a strong warning to malicious delinquents who have been exploiting overseas tax havens to hide their assets that there is no longer anywhere for them to hide. Now, as the international cooperation network has become tighter, tax evasion across borders faces a much higher risk of detection than in the past.

Changes at the National Tax Service are being carried out in parallel along two axes: strengthening communication with the outside world and strengthening internal capabilities. As confirmed at the meeting with the Seoul Liquor Wholesale Association, the National Tax Service is listening to the difficulties faced by the front line and continuing practical communication to improve unreasonable regulations. The process of resolving field-related challenges, such as the issue of stickers for alcohol transport vehicles, is an important process for restoring trust with taxpayers. At the same time, the National Tax Service is working hard to strengthen its internal expertise, such as hiring tax law experts qualified as attorneys as general term public officials in order to increase expertise in tax law interpretation. This can be interpreted as part of building essential human infrastructure to implement more accurate and fair tax law enforcement in an increasingly complex economic situation.

Meanwhile, there are expectations among experts that the introduction of a ‘social collection integration’ system led by the National Tax Service will be the key to resolving welfare blind spots. The current fragmented social insurance collection system is causing administrative waste and unfair disputes due to divisions between ministries. If this is combined with the National Tax Service's real-time income tracking infrastructure, the unreasonable health insurance premium system charged in proportion to assets can be improved and a fair levy system based on real income can be established. Of course, there are concerns about concentration of personal information or enlargement of authority, but in order to establish a preemptive support system that goes beyond the welfare of applicants, such bold administrative integration is becoming an irreversible trend of the times. To support these mega-reforms, the government is expanding field staff, accelerating data-driven digital transformation, and designing sophisticated policies.