195 Salaried Workers Received Over 100 Million Won Each in Year-End Tax Refunds
A total of 195 salaried workers received tax refunds exceeding 100 million won in last year's year-end tax settlement, with their combined refunds reaching 59.9 billion won. The year-end tax settlement is a system in which employers settle a worker's taxes for the year on their behalf, either issuing refunds or collecting additional payments. It is a process of reconciling the taxes withheld from monthly wages with the actual tax liability at year's end: if too much was withheld, the worker receives a refund; if too little, they must pay the difference.
An analysis of National Tax Service data on "year-end tax settlements for earned income (tax years 2022–2024)," obtained by Rep. Jung Sung-ho of the Democratic Party of Korea, showed that the number of recipients of refunds exceeding 100 million won rose 38 percent from two years earlier, while the total refund amount grew 2.5-fold. Large refunds have been on the rise year after year: the number of refunds exceeding 100 million won increased from 141 in 2022 to 171 in 2023 and 195 in 2024. The total refund amount likewise grew over the same period from 24 billion won to 38.9 billion won and 59.9 billion won, while the average refund per person climbed each year from 170.48 million won to 227.25 million won and 307.3 million won.
Those subject to the 2024 year-end tax settlement numbered 21,078,535. Of these, 14,854,954 (70.5 percent) received refunds, with the total refund amount reaching 12.5865 trillion won. Conversely, 3,772,299 workers (17.9 percent) had to pay additional taxes, totaling 4.4181 trillion won. The number of workers making additional payments rose 6.4 percent from 3,544,553 in 2023 to 3,772,299 in 2024, while the additional amount paid increased 10.2 percent from 4.0091 trillion won to 4.4181 trillion won.
Refund levels for ordinary workers are relatively low. Workers with refunds of 1 million won or less numbered 11,079,156, accounting for 74.6 percent of all refund recipients, but the amount they received came to just 3.3548 trillion won, or 26.7 percent of the total. The average refund per person last year was 847,000 won, but the median was a mere 367,000 won. The average refund rose annually from 771,000 won in 2022 to 824,000 won in 2023 and 847,000 won in 2024, while the median refund also increased over the same period from 325,000 won to 367,000 won.
Cases of large additional tax payments have also increased. Some 1,794 workers paid more than 100 million won in additional taxes, shouldering 405.8 billion won in total, or an average of 226.21 million won per person. Though they made up just 0.05 percent of all additional taxpayers, they accounted for 9.2 percent of the total amount paid. Broadening the scope to the top 0.1 percent of additional payers, or 3,772 people, the average additional payment reached 148.81 million won. The average total income of the top 0.1 percent of additional taxpayers was 1.16093 billion won, more than double the average total income of 564.2 million won among the top 0.1 percent of refund recipients.
Rep. Jung said, "The number of workers receiving or paying more than 100 million won in taxes is increasing every year," adding, "The tax authorities need to closely examine why such large gaps arise between amounts withheld and final tax liabilities."
