The nation’s three investigative agencies on financial transactions and the central bank will collaborate on inquiries into alleged corporate tax evaders via investment in overseas tax havens.

Officials at the Financial Supervisory Service said the regulator plans to actively exchange a variety of information on offshore investors with the National Tax Service, the Korea Customs Service and the Bank of Korea.

This is the first time in about eight years since 2005 for the agencies to seek joint investigation into a particular issue.

Their movement comes after a group of independent journalists revealed names of high-profile Korean businesspeople suspected of having run paper companies in offshore tax havens in an alleged move to evade taxes.

Over the past few weeks, the Korea Center for Investigative Journalism identified 18 Korean business leaders who they found to have established bogus firms in tax havens, indirectly arguing that they may have hidden funds and tried to avoid taxes.

In a similar vein, the prosecution recently launched an investigation into CJ Group over allegations that the conglomerate fostered slush funds and might have sought to dodge taxes.

The Financial Supervisory Service and the Bank of Korea plan to look into suspected violations of the foreign exchange law in the process of funneling the money overseas, and inform the National Tax Service and the prosecution of their results.

The agencies have so far collected evidence related to possible tax evasion at two major family-run conglomerates, Hanwha Group and Hyosung Group.

The list unveiled by the Korea Center for Investigative Journalism involves Choi Eun-young, the chairwoman of shipping giant Hanjin Shipping, Lee Soo-young, the chairman of polysilicon maker OCI and Chun Jae-kook, a son of former President Chun Doo-hwan.

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)