Seoul: South Korea's tax agency has initiated a special investigation into KB Kookmin Bank, one of the country's major lenders, financial sources revealed on Thursday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the National Tax Service (NTS) has dispatched approximately 30 investigators to the bank's headquarters located in western Seoul. The team aims to secure crucial accounting records as part of a comprehensive tax audit.

The investigators are part of Investigation Bureau 4 of the NTS' Seoul Regional Tax Office. This bureau is tasked with examining tax evasion by businesses and is colloquially known as the "Grim Reaper" by the business community.

The investigation is anticipated to continue until the end of the year. However, the specific reasons prompting the investigation have not been disclosed.

Earlier in May, the bureau launched similar probes into Hana Financial Group and Meritz Securities Co. Market analysts speculated that these investigations followed President Lee Jae Myung's remarks regarding the insufficient dedication of financial companies to public interest.

An official from the tax agency stated, "We cannot confirm information related to tax investigations into individual cases."