Actually, fundamentally, I would like to mention that the ActGeo and the construction company's internal contract process was carried out as an internal procedure of the construction company. I understand that it was conducted through competitive bidding. At that time, I understand that a total of three companies bid in the comprehensive evaluation. Therefore, it is known that ActGeo was selected through both price and non-price incentives, especially focusing on the technical aspects. Also, there were some inquiries regarding the contract signing and corporate history related to ActGeo. Basically, I understand that ActGeo has franchised the TexRaz brand. So, in that regard, I apologize for not being able to confirm everything accurately. It is regrettable that we missed that part up to the point of the company's oversight.

There doesn't seem to be a major issue because of this. In fact, this is different from the fundamental professionalism of the data, so it doesn't seem to affect the overall credibility of the data. However, it is known that the tax evasion was recognized by the tax office, and the outstanding tax of $150 was paid off. In fact, we signed a contract in February 2023 and completed the remaining payment in March 2023, so there doesn't seem to be any additional issues. Another point to mention is that some media outlets have raised concerns about the size of the tax and suggested that it was paid with the Seoul Construction Agency's service fees. We clarified that the point at which we paid the tax to the construction agency was in March 2023. We also mentioned that the point at which we paid the actual service fee to the agency was.

It's May 2023. First of all, I'd like to clarify that the initial mistake was made by me, so let me correct that fact. Did you know about this issue at the time of the contract, based on precedents, to confirm that there were no problems, and then signed the contract? Or not? I apologize for the contract, but I didn't know at the time of the contract. I will explain it precisely. You researched and signed the contract after the issue came to light, right? That's correct. We didn't know at the time we signed it. Later, during another contract process, Act found out about this fact in March and we believe the payment was made based on that. However, according to Act's office, the franchise tax rate is very low, at 0.7%, not based on revenue but on profits. It seems like it was handled through the accountant, and we believe that part was overlooked. And then, well, in other words, it was a mistake.

Yes, that was a mistake, a mistake we made. We didn't know at the time of the contract, and when we checked the law later, we needed to verify the validity of the contract. During our verification process, we confirmed that there was no issue with the legal personality. The Texas corporation is fine, but we wondered if there might be any issues with our regulations or procedures. Since the legal personality itself is intact, we believe there is no problem with it. However, we understand that this was not a requirement in international bidding. If they had submitted all the necessary documents, such as tax payment certificates, during the process, it would have likely been resolved. We apologize for not thoroughly reviewing all these aspects, including the fact that it wasn't seen comprehensively, including the issue of the contractor. We assure you that there is no problem with our regulations. This was about the Western construction bidding contract, and as far as I know, those requirements were not imposed.

I believe there is no problem with the requirements because the corporate personality is alive in the bidding competition. Democratic Party member Lee Hyun-joo, who is from an oil company, directly criticized that a national investigation should be conducted, not a city investigation, regarding the revelation that Geo had not paid business taxes for four years. He pointed out that our government's explanation that there was no such thing is nonsense. He questioned how a corporation that had its qualifications revoked due to non-payment managed to resolve the arrears with money given by the oil company and revived its qualifications. In particular, he criticized that Dio had contracts with several companies but only had a sales of 30 million won, asking why they couldn't even pay taxes. He pointed out that the portfolio claiming participation in various projects such as Guyana genetics is not explained at all. He questioned why the oil company would believe in a company that couldn't even pay taxes for four years and would invest tens of billions of won or trillions of won of taxpayers' money.

They asked why, as there are many good exploration companies, did the oil company insist on contracting with this particular company, emphasizing that it is questionable and should be investigated by the state, not just drilling. They expressed opposition to pushing forward with such doubtful matters, even amidst difficult economic and financial situations, by pouring in massive amounts of taxpayers' money to find investors. The lawmaker stated that petroleum development is a game with such low odds that it's akin to gambling, and it's not clear where the profits will go, pointing out that the risks lie with us, not overseas. He urged for a reevaluation. Prior to this, the oil company revealed that the U.S. company, Geo, which analyzed the East Sea gas field, was in arrears with its corporate business tax when it signed a contract with the Korean oil company in February last year. However, the oil company stated that even if Geo was in arrears, according to Texas state law, they could still maintain their corporate status and proceed with the contract, mentioning that despite Geo's financial difficulties last year, they still signed a contract with the oil company.

The contracted service agreement was explained to have no legal issues. The informant previously reported that if D.O. had his corporate status revoked from January 2019 to March 2022, then in February 2023, when the oil company entrusted D.O. with the analysis, D.O. was reported to have had his corporate registration revoked.

[오늘 이 뉴스] '액트지오 체납' 머쓱해진 차관  "죄송..계약 당시엔 몰랐다" (2024.06.10/MBC뉴스)

MBC 뉴스 공식 유튜브 채널입니다. 시청자 여러분의 의견과 제보를 항상 기다립니다. 
세상과 소통하는 시간, MBC 뉴스와 함께 하세요!