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SK Telecom (photo = provided by SK Telecom). |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] SK Telecom is reportedly undergoing a special tax audit by the Korea National Tax Service (NTS) over allegations that it awarded hundreds of billions of won in fake contracts to its affiliate SK C&C.
According to IT industry sources on Wednesday (19th), the Seoul Regional Tax Office’s Investigation Bureau IV is investigating transactions dating back to 2014-2015, before SK Holdings and SK C&C merged to form the current SK Inc..
The NTS suspects that out of over KRW 500 billion (approx. USD 375 million) in IT service contracts issued by SK Telecom to SK C&C, a portion estimated to be worth several hundred billion won involved non-existent or inflated services. Allegedly, some tax invoices issued by SK C&C were also overstated.
SK Telecom denied the allegations, stating, “There were no fabricated contracts with SK C&C. We are sincerely cooperating with the ongoing tax investigation.”
The NTS had previously conducted an on-site investigation at SK Telecom’s office in December 2023 as part of this probe.
Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
