Goyang City to Eradicate "Malicious Delinquents"... Launches Comprehensive Collection Roadmap

City Launches Special Collection Measures for First Half of 2026
Mayor Lee Donghwan of Goyang: "Realizing Tax Justice"
Strict Sanctions Including House Searches and Seizure of Virtual Assets
Gyeonggi Province's Only "Delinquent Vehicle Impoundment Team" in Operation
Customized Response to Malicious and Livelihood-Based Delinquents Using Big Data

Goyang Special City in Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Lee Donghwan) is set to launch its "2026 First Half Local Tax Arrears Special Collection Measures" in earnest, aiming to eradicate high-value and habitual tax delinquents and realize tax justice.

Items seized during house search. Provided by Goyang City

According to Goyang Special City on March 7, the city plans to implement a series of measures to eliminate malicious tax evasion by those who deliberately avoid their tax obligations. These measures include: strong enforcement actions and administrative penalties against high-value delinquents; ongoing tracking of intelligently concealed assets; on-site collection activities; and data-driven, precise diagnostics of taxpayers' payment capabilities.

Expanded Scope from House Searches to Virtual Assets... Tracking Down Concealed Assets of Malicious Delinquents

The city is intensifying pressure on high-value and habitual tax delinquents. House searches are being conducted on delinquent taxpayers, and any concealed movable assets such as jewelry, luxury goods, and cash are immediately seized on site. The seized items are scheduled to be sold in a joint on-site auction with Gyeonggi Province at the end of August, and the proceeds will be used to offset the delinquent tax amounts.

The joint auction of seized items was held at KINTEX in Goyang City for two consecutive years in 2023 and 2024, and was conducted online in 2025. The public sale of seized assets not only delivers visible results for tax collection, but also serves as a warning to others.

In addition, the city continues to track other identified assets such as real estate and vehicles. For assets with substantial value, the auction process will be initiated immediately to prevent delinquents from stalling or delaying payment.

2024 Local Tax Delinquent Property Seizure and Auction. Provided by Goyang City

Furthermore, Goyang Special City will enforce social and economic sanctions such as public disclosure of high-value and habitual delinquents, travel bans, and credit record registration. For intelligent delinquents who cleverly conceal their assets, the city will deploy a focused workforce to thoroughly track down hidden property. If evidence arises of assets being transferred to family members or relatives, the city will actively consider legal actions, including lawsuits.

Meanwhile, the city is expanding its asset tracking scope to strengthen measures against the use of virtual assets (cryptocurrencies), which have recently become a common means for delinquents to conceal property. In cooperation with major domestic virtual asset exchanges, the city confirms the assets held by delinquents and proceeds with both immediate seizure and collection through sale. In November of last year, the city completed the opening of accounts at the four major domestic virtual asset exchanges to directly sell seized virtual assets.

Strengthening On-Site Crackdowns Led by the "Delinquent Vehicle Impoundment Team"... Distinguishing Malicious and Livelihood-Based Delinquents Using Big Data

In 2025, Goyang City was the only city among the 31 cities and counties in Gyeonggi Province to launch a dedicated task force for impounding delinquent vehicles. Starting this year, the task force has been formalized as the Delinquent Vehicle Impoundment Team and is utilized as a core collection tool.

The Delinquent Vehicle Impoundment Team patrols the entire city using enforcement vehicles equipped with license plate recognition systems. When a vehicle with overdue automobile taxes is detected, its license plate is immediately impounded. For so-called "ghost cars" or vehicles with four or more instances of habitual delinquency, a wheel locking device is installed on-site to stop operation, and delinquent taxes are collected through the sale of the impounded vehicle.

Last year, the city impounded 2,321 vehicle license plates and disposed of 98 vehicles through public auction, collecting 1.4 billion won in local tax arrears (including 200 million won from auctions). The city plans to continue these on-site crackdowns on delinquent vehicles throughout this year as well.

Operation of Dedicated TF Team for Seizure of Overdue Vehicles in 2025. Provided by Goyang City

At the same time, the city is pursuing rational, data-based collection administration. By comprehensively analyzing each delinquent's assets, income, credit status, and payment history, the city segments payment capabilities to clearly distinguish between malicious delinquents and those who are temporarily delinquent due to economic hardship. Strong collection measures such as house searches and asset auctions are applied to malicious delinquents, while those experiencing temporary financial difficulties are encouraged to make installment payments to support their recovery.

The city also continues to use mobile notifications based on Kakao AlimTalk to inform taxpayers of delinquencies. This enables prompt notification even to delinquents whose registered addresses differ from their actual residence or who are staying overseas, thereby improving collection rates. Furthermore, this contributes to eco-friendly administration by reducing the cost of producing and mailing paper bills and notices.

Mayor Lee Donghwan of Goyang Special City stated, "A tax culture where citizens who pay their taxes faithfully are respected is the foundation of tax justice," and added, "We will establish a mature tax payment culture through transparent, responsible, and strong collection administration."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.