10 Years of 'Village Tax Accountant' Program: Over 400,000 Free Consultations for Vulnerable Small Businesses

Over the past 10 years since the introduction of the Village Tax Accountant program, more than 400,000 free tax consultations have been provided.

The Village Tax Accountant program is a service where tax accountants voluntarily donate their talents to offer free tax consultations to vulnerable groups and small business owners who need tax assistance.

Since its nationwide implementation in 2016, it has provided over 400,000 free tax consultations over the decade, establishing itself as a representative tax assistance program that resolves residents' tax concerns.

Since 2020, approximately 50,000 free tax consultations have been conducted each year.

As of the end of December 2025, there were 1,376 village tax accountants commissioned by local governments nationwide.

These tax accountants provided 50,762 free tax consultations last year.

This amounts to an average of 37 cases handled per village tax accountant.

Looking at the types of consultations conducted last year, national taxes accounted for the majority with 42,765 cases, followed by local taxes with 7,997 cases.

Most of the consultations were conducted over the phone (37,520 cases).

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety is holding the "Visiting Village Tax Accountant for Chuseok" event today (the 15th) at Donam Market in Gangbuk-gu, Seoul, in cooperation with the Korea Certified Tax Accountants Association.

The event will feature free tax consultations by village tax accountants, along with donations of support supplies for small business owners, a traditional market shopping campaign, and promotions for the Hometown Love Donation system.

Apart from the event at Donam Market in Seoul, local governments and local tax accountant associations will also hold "Visiting Village Tax Accountant" events at traditional markets in various regions, including Seoul, Gyeonggi, Busan, Incheon, and Gwangju, to celebrate the Chuseok holiday.

Song Kyung-joo, head of the Local Finance and Economy Office at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, said, "We hope that this event prepared for Chuseok will help local residents and small business owners struggling with tax issues ease their concerns, while also serving as an opportunity to learn more about a system they may not have known about before."

(Photo: Provided by Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.