KFTC left about 80 billion won in fines unpaid

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[The Financial News] The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) collected about 80 billion won in fines that it imposed but did not receive by the deadline last year.
According to data the KFTC submitted on Monday to the office of Lee Yang-su of the People Power Party, a member of the National Policy Committee, the amount of discretionary overdue fines stood at 79.845 billion won at the end of last year. That accounted for 18.6% of total uncollected fines, which came to 428.985 billion won.
The uncollected amount is divided into fines whose payment deadlines have been extended under installment-payment decisions, amounts under collection deferral due to court stays during litigation, and discretionary overdue fines that were not paid without valid reason.
In effect, discretionary overdue fines are at the heart of the delayed collection problem. Such fines surged 82.8% over four years, from 43.668 billion won in 2021 to 79.845 billion won last year. Their share of total uncollected fines also rose by 10.3 percentage points, from 8.3% in 2021 to 18.6% last year. The number of businesses that failed to pay on time also increased from 114 in 2021 to 127 last year.
Collection conditions, meanwhile, remain poor. The number of KFTC staff members handling collection and delinquency work has remained at two for five years, from 2021 through last year.
Lee Yang-su said, "Delayed collection is undermining strict law enforcement," and added, "We need to thoroughly review the fine collection management system and strengthen compulsory collection procedures." He also said, "It is urgent to expand staffing and reorganize the agency for smoother collection work."
junjun@fnnews.com Choi Yong-jun Reporter