Seoul: South Korea's tax agency announced on Tuesday that it has entered into an agreement with Cambodia to enhance cooperation in the sharing of information, with the goal of addressing illegal fund transfers and offshore tax evasion.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the agreement was formalized by Lim Kwang-hyun, commissioner of the National Tax Service (NTS), and his Cambodian counterpart, Kong Vibol. This took place during their meeting in Seoul on Monday, as reported by the NTS. Lim underscored the need for active cooperation between the tax authorities of both countries to effectively tackle cross-border crimes, such as the illegal transfer of funds and offshore tax evasion through income and asset concealment.

The NTS highlighted that it has been conducting regular working-level meetings with Cambodian tax officials to enhance information-sharing mechanisms. It was noted that Cambodia is currently not a signatory to the multilateral agreement on the automatic exchange of financial account information. The South Korean government has also increased its focus on potential money laundering activities, following a comprehensive review of South Korean nationals allegedly involved in online scams run by criminal organizations in Southeast Asia late last year.