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Exterior views of the Seoul Regional Tax Office headquarters and KB Kookmin Bank's head office.

The National Tax Service (NTS), following special tax probes into Hana Financial Group and Meritz Securities, has now launched a special audit targeting KB Kookmin Bank. Since Kookmin Bank underwent a regular tax audit as recently as 2023, this latest probe — coming just about three years later — is seen as unusual given the typical audit cycle.

According to the financial industry on the 13th, the Seoul Regional Tax Office's Investigation Bureau 4 has sent investigators to KB Kookmin Bank's new building in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, to secure accounting records and other materials needed for the tax audit. The audit is reportedly expected to run through the end of this year. The specific reasons for the investigation and the transactions under scrutiny have not been confirmed.

Investigation Bureau 4 typically handles irregular audits triggered by specific suspicions, such as tax evasion or the creation of slush funds, rather than routine periodic audits. Because it often conducts intensive investigations targeting companies, it's known in business circles as the "Grim Reaper."

This latest probe stands out because it comes just about three years after Kookmin Bank's most recent regular tax audit. The bank underwent a regular audit by the Seoul Regional Tax Office in late March 2023. Shinhan Bank was also audited that same March — both banks' first audits since 2018, a five-year gap. Woori Bank likewise underwent a regular tax audit last year.

The NTS has launched a series of special tax audits targeting other financial firms this year as well. Investigation Bureau 4 conducted a special audit of Hana Financial Group and Hana Bank in May — coming four years after their last regular audit in 2022. Three days after launching the Hana Financial probe, the NTS also began a special audit of Meritz Securities. In June, it launched a special audit targeting the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (Nonghyup). The NTS's special tax audits targeting financial firms have continued in succession this year.

                                                                                                         Han Sang-wook