Parties Dig In Over Back Taxes

Ruling and opposition parties traded verbal blows Thursday over the decision by the National Tax Service to collect 505.6 billion won ($390 million) in back taxes from 23 national media companies.

Government warnings of possible prosecution for tax evasion further agitated the main opposition Grand National Party, which called the tax assessment "muzzling the press."

The opposition party announced that it will call eight officials including Ahn Jung-nam, commissioner of the National Tax Service, to the parliament on Monday.

"The tax investigation into media companies goes beyond the principle of equity," Kwon Chul-hyun, opposition party spokesman said.

The opposition said that the size of the assessment on what are basically small-and medium-sized companies is in effect forcing some of the media firms to close their doors.

But the ruling Millennium Democratic Party said the tax agency's decision was by the book, and should not be subject to partisan fighting.

"The tax audit was conducted according to the law to achieve justice in taxation," said Kim Joong-kwon, chairman of the ruling party. "There was no consultation between the party and the government on the matter."

"Freedom of the press is separated from the freedom of a media companies," said Jeon Yong-hak, the ruling party spokesman.

While few lawmakers questioned the legitimacy of the four-month-long audit into media companies, many did question the way the agency handled the results of the inquiry.

Rep. Park Kwan-yong, a Grand National, said that the tax service violated the law by disclosing the results of the tax inquiry.

"The National Tax Agency can only divulge the suspected amount of tax evaded if it lodges a complaint with the prosecution," Mr. Park said.

The tax service said that the four-month-long investigation into media companies was a "routine tax audit" done every five years on major business sectors.

It is the second tax audit of national media companies. The first was conducted during former President Kim Young-sam's administration, but the results were not disclosed.

The former president, on Thursday, said "This tax audit is a dictactor's way of liquidating the media companies."

by Lee Yang-soo