South Korea's National Tax Service has launched audits of 41 companies suspected of understating profits and evading taxes while passing higher costs to consumers before the Chuseok holiday. The targets include 23 agricultural and livestock distributors, 16 food processors, franchise headquarters and delivery platforms, and two fashion platforms. The agricultural group includes 11 egg farms and 12 grain, fruit and meat import distributors. The agency suspects companies collectively underreported about 1 trillion won in profits over periods of three to five years through false tax invoices, fabricated cost calculations, concealed sales and related-party transactions. Baedal Minjok, also known as Baemin, is accused of transferring approximately 1 trillion won in domestic profits to its German parent through complex capital transactions, potentially avoiding about 100 billion won in withholding tax. Pulmuone is suspected of including costs attributable to domestic and overseas affiliates in product costs before raising prices, while Musinsa and another fashion platform are accused of imposing high commissions and shifting burdens to partner vendors. The audits also cover alleged underreported egg-farm income, improper VAT deductions, nominee-owned franchises, private use of company assets, tariff-quota abuses and omitted platform sales. The tax agency said its focus is the tax treatment of costs and transactions behind the pricing and commission practices, rather than price increases or commission rates themselves.