Pak Se-ri is in a situation where she has to pay 5 billion won in gift tax.

It was revealed that Chairman Se-ri Pak of the Se-ri Pak Hope Foundation had sued her father for forging the seal of the Se-ri Pak Hope Foundation, and it was also revealed that she had repaid her father Jun-cheol Park's debt several times. But something unexpected happened. It is said that as Pak Se-ri paid off his father's debt, the gift tax he had to pay was at least 5 billion won. In the legal world, there is talk that the facts should be examined regarding Se-ri Pak's obligation to jointly pay gift tax.

Se-ri Pak recently revealed at a press conference that she had repaid her father's debt several times. According to a copy of the real estate register on the 24th, Se-ri Park and her daughter purchased a portion of land in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon with a 50% stake each in June 2008. The land in question has been repeatedly subject to provisional seizure and deregistration since 2001.

As of 2014, the amount of seizure and provisional seizure claims on the property amounted to 3.093 billion won. As of September 2012, all seizure and provisional seizure registrations registered in the register were canceled. However, after another provisional seizure came in, Se-ri Pak acquired all of the remaining shares in July 2016 in exchange for repaying an additional 1 billion won in debt and interest to her father.

Creditor A, who appeared in August 2021, claimed a 'fraudulent act' and filed a lawsuit requesting cancellation of ownership transfer registration due to the cancellation of the fraudulent act. The idea is to restore the 50% stake of Se-ri Pak's father (Jun-cheol Park), whose ownership was transferred to Se-ri Pak, back to its original state. Fraudulent activity refers to an act in which a debtor intentionally reduces his or her assets and thereby renders the debtor unable to repay his or her debts.

The industry estimates that Se-ri Pak's father's debt repaid is more than 10 billion won. If Se-ri Pak gifts cash to her father, thereby repaying her father's debt, the father will be liable for gift tax. The tax office believes that Se-ri Pak paid her father's debt on her behalf, and that Se-ri Pak made a gift to her father and then repaid it. Unlike gift tax due to debt exemption, joint tax liability arises when gifting cash. In other words, if Se-ri Pak's father does not have the money to pay the gift tax, Se-ri Pak must pay the gift tax on his behalf.

It could be argued that Se-ri Pak lent money to her father, and that her father repaid his existing debt with the borrowed money. In this case, Se-ri Pak is not obligated to pay gift tax. To put it simply, if Se-ri Pak's father borrowed money from Se-ri Pak, it is not a gift, so there is no tax. However, the legal community says that it is difficult to avoid gift tax because it is not easy to prove this.

Attorney Kim Seong-su of the Gangnam Law Firm explained, "In order for Pak Se-ri and her daughter to claim money lending between parents and children, there must be a cash loan agreement or interest payment history. Otherwise, there is a high possibility that this claim will not be legally recognized."

Attorney Woo Do-hoon, who is in charge of the tax field at Sejong Law Firm, a large law firm, said, “In order to determine whether it was a gift, it is necessary to closely examine the facts,” adding, “If the creditor actually lent it to Se-ri Pak (only in the name of her father), “If, in the process, Se-ri Pak had an obligation to repay jointly with her father, such as if Se-ri Pak agreed to it, there is room for a defense in some cases that it is not a gift.” However, in most cases, it is not expected to be easy to apply as it is a debt to the father personally, regardless of Se-ri Pak's will.

It was reported exclusively by Ten Asia on the 11th that the Pak Se-ri Hope Foundation, of which Se-ri Pak is the chairman, sued Se-ri Pak's father, Jun-cheol Park, in September last year on charges of forging private documents and using forged documents. Daejeon Yuseong Police Station recently acknowledged the charges against the father, Mr. Park, and sent the case to the prosecution with a recommendation for indictment, and an investigation into the accuser by the prosecution is scheduled to take place soon.

In relation to this, the Se-ri Pak Hope Foundation said about the background of the complaint against Mr. Park, "Se-ri Pak's father received a participation offer from a company establishing an international golf school and secretly produced and used the foundation's corporate seal. The establishment company submitted the relevant documents to the administrative agency. “We submitted it, but later we found out that it was a forged seal and filed a complaint.”

The Pak Se-ri Hope Foundation announced on its website that 'Director Pak Se-ri announces that he has no plans or plans anywhere in the country to attract or establish an international golf school or Pak Se-ri International School (including golf academies, Taean and Saemangeum, anywhere in the country).' has been put forward.

Kim Ji-won, Ten Asia reporter bella@tenasia.co.kr