Cosmetic surgeons tremble under fear of 'separazzis'

A 20-something woman visited a cosmetic surgeon in Busan and asked about a nose job she needed before she went for an interview.

“I have been to a number of clinics and this is quite expensive,” she said. “If you pay in cash, we can give you a 15 percent discount,” said a surgery coordinator. “Would you like to make a down payment?”

The woman was grinning away as she was leaving the clinic after the 10-minute consultation. She was holding onto a piece of paper that had the clinic’s bank account number.

A few days later, the clinic received a call from the tax authorities. They asked about reasons why certain amounts were deposited into bank accounts held under questionable identities.

The investigation was being conducted after the woman reported that the account where 50,000 won ($45) was deposited was not that of the owner of the clinic.

The clinic had no way of denying the allegations and admitted to using accounts under different identities as a means of evading taxes.

Following the incident, alarms were going off in plastic surgery clinics at the confirmation of the presence of what is known Korea as “separazzis” (that are paparazzis who report tax evasions with “se” meaning tax).

An employee at the cosmetic surgery clinic in Busan said at least 20 other similar establishments are under investigation by the tax authorities. “We are concerned that the reality of the situation will get out in the open.”

There are reports in Busan about the existence of institutes that specialize in training separazzis who stand to win rewards of up to 100 million won ($90,000) for reporting tax fraud.