Korean Tycoons Luxury Real Estate Under Investigation

An anonymous Korean government official said that the Korean Tax Bureau (NTS) will soon send two investigators from their Seoul office to the U.S., where they will look into suspected tax problems with the Hyosung family’s US luxury real estate purchases.If you are unfamiliar, the Hyosung family owns Hyosung motors and a number of other companies.

The investigation will reportedly be carried out by investigators from either the Seoul Regional Tax Office’s Fourth Investigative Bureau or the First Investigative Office, which handles corporate crime. This is apparently a big scandal in Korea, where the Hyosung family is under investigation for tax evasion and other corporate crimes. Money skimmed from the Korean tax man was allegedly used to buy a luxury condo in San Francisco in 2004, a $4.5 million luxury villa in LosAngeles in 2002 and shares in two luxury home in San Diego in 2006.

Korean-American journalist An Chi-yong has been instrumental in bringing the case to the attention of the media, although I am still a tad confused as to what the issue is. Either way, it looks as though a few more luxury homes might be hitting the auction block soon, courtesy the Korean Tax  Agency. I wish I could read Korean.  효성에-대한-공개질의

Luxury condo in San Francisco to be snatched back by the Korean Tax Man?