[Exclusive] KOSDAQ shareholders fined

[Anchor]

Major shareholders of KOSDAQ-listed companies have been caught exchanging shares at prices far below market value, pocketing hundreds of billions of won without paying any taxes.

The National Tax Service (NTS) has imposed tax penalties totaling over 100 billion won, including fines.

It has also been confirmed that the NTS is conducting a special tax investigation into these capital market disruption activities.

Reporter Song Su-jin has the exclusive report.

[Report]

In 2023, during the boom of lithium-themed stocks, which are raw materials for secondary batteries, the stock prices of KOSDAQ-listed companies A and B surged.

In the first half of 2023, both companies reached their peak prices, showing similar trends.

At that time, the major shareholders of these companies exchanged convertible bonds at prices significantly lower than the market price.

It is estimated that they made billions of won in evaluation profits during this process, but the investigation by the Seoul Regional Tax Office revealed that they did not pay any taxes.

When convertible bonds are acquired at significantly discounted prices and then sold for profit, the gains are considered gifts and are subject to taxation. But the parties involved didn’t even file the required declarations.

While the major shareholders were secretly exchanging shares at low prices and making profits without informing general shareholders, Company A's management condition rapidly deteriorated, leading it to be designated as a management issue by the Korea Exchange, while Company B was designated as a non-compliant disclosure corporation.

[Company A Representative/Voice Altered: "The low-priced transfer of shares and CBs (convertible bonds) among major shareholders was a declaration of their intention to make capital gains. Because it was not accurately disclosed, it has an impact on individual investors."]

Recently, the National Tax Service imposed taxes totaling hundreds of billions of won, including fines, on the major shareholders of the two companies for tax evasion allegations.

Since early this year, the NTS has been conducting focused tax audits targeting irregular trading involving listed company shares, stock price manipulation, and capital-less M&A schemes.

The agency is expanding its investigation by acquiring lists of habitual offenders and actual beneficial owners—commonly referred to as "jeonju"—from financial regulators.

This is KBS News, Song Su-jin.