53 Nations to Exchange Financial Account Data from 2017

From next month, offshore tax evasion through tax havens will become more difficult.

The Finance Ministry said Thursday that starting January first, financial firms in the country must verify information on financial accounts held in South Korea by overseas residents.

This is a prior measure for a system to be implemented in September 2017 when countries will begin automatic exchanges of financial data.

Under this agreement, world governments will exchange information annually on financial accounts of overseas residents obtained from financial companies.

Once this information is shared, the Seoul government can regularly collect financial data on South Koreans holding bank accounts in foreign countries, and use the information to track down offshore tax evasion.

Fifty-three countries including South Korea are taking part in the automatic exchange of financial account information.

The number of participating nations will increase to over 77 from September 2018.