South Korea's National Tax Service collected 23.9 billion won ($17 million) in back taxes from 17 YouTubers in 2025 after finding that high-earning creators had underreported income. The amount averaged 1.4 billion won per person. Data obtained by Chung Tae-ho of the Democratic Party, a member of the National Assembly's finance committee, showed that the agency audited 84 YouTubers between 2019 and 2025 and levied 47.5 billion won in taxes, or an average of 565 million won each. The assessments cover all business income earned by the individuals, not only YouTube revenue. Audits and assessments both increased in recent years, with 23.9 billion won imposed in 2025 compared with 8.9 billion won in 2024. In February, the tax agency opened audits into 16 YouTubers suspected of tax evasion, including operators of cyber wrecker channels, creators covering real estate and tax issues, and people accused of spreading false or inappropriate content. Chung called for more accurate reporting and reforms to close tax gaps affecting one-person media creators, including income from donations.