원천징수된 세액의 환급청구권자 ―대법원 2025.4.24. 선고 2024다295876 판결―

In this case, Lone Star, a U.S.-based investment fund company, acquired shares in a Korean commercial bank and sold them to a number of investors (“Acquirers”). The Acquirers initially withheld Korean corporate income tax (“CIT”), but shortly thereafter, the Korean tax authorities determined that Lone Star had a permanent establishment in Korea and accordingly issued a CIT assessment to Lone Star. Lone Star challenged the legality of the CIT assessment, which the Korean court ultimately annulled. The legal issue disputed in this case is whether the withheld tax should be refunded to the Acquirers or to Lone Star. The Supreme Court of Korea held that Lone Star has no legal right to demand a direct refund of the withheld tax. Given the potential disputes that may arise between the income recipient and the withholding agent regarding the party entitled to the tax refund, it is more practical to allow the tax authorities to refund the withheld tax to the party that originally submitted the payment, without considering the ultimate ownership of the refunded amount. Furthermore, since the tax authorities continue to maintain that the Acquirers properly withheld the CIT in accordance with Korean tax law, the tax should not be refunded to Lone Star without a judgment from the competent court finding that the Acquirers improperly withheld the CIT. This article presents these arguments that prevent the withheld tax from being refunded to Lone Star to support the Supreme Court decision of this case.