Once Korean tax arrears pass 5 million won, two doors open. National Tax Collection Act Article 110 lets the tax office give a defaulter’s details to credit information bureaus where arrears are at or above a Decree amount and more than a year old, or where they owe that much having defaulted three or more times in a year; Decree Article 98 sets the amount at 5 million won for each. Article 112 lets it ask the licensing authority not to renew or grant licences where income tax, corporate tax or VAT from a licensed business is unpaid, and with three or more defaults totalling 5 million won or more, to suspend the business or revoke the licence.
1. 5 million won or more + (over a year, or 3+ times in a year) → data to credit bureaus (Act Art. 110, Decree Art. 98).
2. Unpaid income tax, corporate tax or VAT from a licensed business → refuse renewals and new licences (Art. 112(1)).
3. 3+ defaults and 5 million or more → suspension or revocation (Art. 112(2)) — one notice counts as one.
Checker
Updates as you type. All three are “may” powers of the tax office. Exceptions such as a pending appeal, disaster, illness or heavy business loss aren’t applied here. One payment notice counts as one time for Art. 112(2) (Decree Art. 102). We read “3 times in a year” and “3 times” as the same count here (our simplification).
The provisions
| Type | What the source says | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Act Art. 110(1) | Where needed for collection or the public interest, at the request of credit information bureaus and others, the tax office may provide details and arrears of (1) those over a year in arrears at or above a Decree amount, (2) those in arrears 3+ times in a year at or above that amount; not while an appeal is pending | — |
| Decree Art. 98(2) | The amounts in Art. 110(1) items 1 and 2 are 5 million won each | — |
| Act Art. 112(1) | Where income tax, corporate tax or VAT connected with a licensed, approved or registered business is unpaid, the tax office may ask the authority not to renew or newly grant licences; except for disaster, illness, serious business loss and the like | No amount threshold |
| Act Art. 112(2) | With 3 or more defaults on those taxes totalling 5 million won or more, it may ask for suspension or revocation | — |
| Decree Art. 102 | For Art. 112(2), one payment notice counts as one time | — |
Once the tax is collected the tax office must withdraw the request at once (Art. 112(3)), and the authority must comply unless it has good reason (para. 4). Decree Article 101 lists exceptions such as notice by public service and the payment-extension grounds in Act Art. 13(1)1–3.
Three checks — our example
| Case (our example) | Measures | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Income tax 6 million won, 13 months unpaid | Credit data | Over a year + 5 million |
| A restaurant’s VAT: 3 notices unpaid, 6 million in total | All three | 3 times + 5 million → suspension or revocation too |
| Licensed business VAT 4.99 million, 5 times | Renewal refusal only | Under 5 million, so no suspension or credit data |
As the third case shows, Article 112(1) has no amount threshold: unpaid tax from a licensed business can trigger a renewal refusal. If a licence renewal is coming up, it’s worth clearing even small arrears first (our gloss).
For wage attachment, national tax collection uses its own article (Art. 42) rather than the Civil Execution Act; the civil rule is in wage garnishment calculator. Registration deadlines are in business registration deadline.
Checklist
- ☐ Arrears past 5 million won?
- ☐ Over a year since default, or 3 times in a year
- ☐ Income tax, corporate tax or VAT from a licensed business?
- ☐ Papers for exceptions: disaster, illness, business loss
Questions that remain
Does my credit score drop straight away?
Article 110 only allows the data to be provided; how it’s used in scoring is outside this Act.
Is the record cleared once I pay?
Article 112(3) withdraws the licence request on payment. When the credit bureau deletes its record we didn’t check.
Sources
- Korean law database (law.go.kr) — National Tax Collection Act Arts. 110, 112 — source (current text, effective 2 October 2026, Act No. 21490; checked 21 October 2026). Arrears data (over a year; 3 times a year), refusal of renewals and new licences, suspension or revocation at 3 times and 5 million, withdrawal and the authority’s duty.
- Korean law database — National Tax Collection Act Enforcement Decree Arts. 98, 101, 102 — source (effective 1 October 2026, Decree No. 36126; checked 21 October 2026). 5 million won, licence exceptions, one notice = one time.
- Not read. Credit bureaus’ registration and deletion rules; details of Art. 42 wage attachment.
- What we added. The “worth noting” column and the Korean everyday gloss.
Where to check further
- Your tax office — arrears and instalments.
- The licensing authority — renewal dates.
Written on 21 October 2026. The content is from the source; the glosses are ours.
