Tax agency launches probe into KB Kookmin Bank: sources

A branch of KB Kookmin Bank in Seoul, July 9 / Yonhap

Korea's tax agency has launched a special probe into KB Kookmin Bank, a major lender, financial sources said Thursday.

According to insiders, the National Tax Service (NTS) has sent around 30 investigators to the bank's headquarters in western Seoul to secure accounting records needed for a tax audit.

The sources added the investigators are from Investigation Bureau 4 of the NTS' Seoul Regional Tax Office, which is in charge of probing tax evasion by businesses. The bureau is widely referred to as the "Grim Reaper" by the business community.

The probe is expected to run through the end of this year.

The reason for the investigation was not immediately known.

The bureau also launched special probes against Hana Financial Group and Meritz Securities Co. in May.

Market watchers then said the series of special probes apparently came after President Lee Jae Myung pointed out the lack of financial companies' commitment to the public interest.

"We cannot confirm information related to tax investigations into individual cases," an official from the tax agency said.