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NTS refers SK Telecom to prosecutors on tax evasion allegations

Published: 17 Jun. 2025, 20:48

SK Telecom's headquarters in Jung District, central Seoul [NEWS1]

The National Tax Service (NTS) referred SK Telecom and some of its former executives to prosecutors on charges of tax evasion related to alleged fake contracts with a fellow SK Group affiliate.

The tax agency recently held a deliberation at its Tax Offense Review Committee and concluded that the mobile carrier and its then-executives should be criminally investigated for evading value-added tax (VAT) and other tax liabilities, according to industry insiders on Tuesday.

The case centers on suspicions that from 2013 to 2015, SK Telecom fabricated contracts worth hundreds of billions of won with SK C&C, the group’s IT affiliate now known as SK AX. Authorities believe SK C&C inflated its sales by issuing false tax invoices based on those fake transactions, enabling it to dodge taxes.

Earlier this year, the NTS launched an unscheduled tax audit of SK Telecom, which led to the current referral to the prosecution.

The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office reportedly assigned the case to the Seoul Northern District Prosecutors’ Office, which specializes in tax crime investigations.

The case is also under separate investigation by the police.

“We will cooperate diligently if we receive a request from investigators,” a SK Telecom spokesperson said.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY JANG WON-SEOK [[email protected]]