By Kang Seung-woo
Staff reporter
In the midst of a tide of government lashing and thrashing of big conglomerates, Samsung Life Insurance is facing a tax audit, a move that is seen as another Lee Myung-Bak hint so that they follow his policies of supporting smaller companies.
According to the insurance industry, the National Tax Service (NTS) has conducted an intense audit of the nation’s largest insurance company since June.
The tax agency’s investigation is a rare occasion in that the life insurer is being checked only three years since the previous audit in 2007. A general audit of large companies which have annual sales of 500 billion won ($422 million) is conducted every four years.
The audit is raising speculation that the current administration has already started cracking its whip on big firms.
Recently, President Lee expressed deep disappointment in conglomerates that are sluggish in investing and creating jobs and he called for more attention to small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs).
In related moves, inspections of large corporations by the prosecution and Fair Trade Commission (FTC) are expected to be conducted in the near future.
In addition, it is also instilling fears among conglomerates the fact that the FTC carried out a two-day check on seven major insurers including Samsung, Korea Life, Kyobo, Shinhan, Tongyang and the Korea Life Insurance Association (KLIA) on Wednesday and Thursday.
The NTS also checked Samsung Fire and Samsung Securities earlier this year.
“Under the current situation, there is no one who believes that the audit of Samsung Life is a routine one,” an official of a local insurance company told Maeil Economic Daily.
“Although we have yet to receive any messages from the agencies dealing with this job, we cannot be laidback because the conditions can change quickly at any time,” another official said.
Meanwhile, the two parties in the audit disregarded the growing suspicions, calling it a “regular” examination.