South Korea: Disclosure of address and personal ID number of beneficial owners

Beginning with dividends with record dates in

December 2012

all Clearstream Banking¹ customers will be required to provide the full address and personal ID number for all beneficial owners holding securities in South Korea and claiming favourable rates under a Double Taxation Treaty (DTT) between their country of residence and South Korea.

Valid personal ID numbers include, but are not limited to, social security, passport, driver’s licence, taxpayer ID, and resident registration numbers.

Background

The Korean Ministry of Strategy and Finance (“MoSF”) has approved revisions to several clauses of the Presidential Decrees of Income Tax Law and Corporate Tax Law initiating the use of a new Application for Reduced Tax Rate form that allows for account-level payment of withholding tax at applicable rates.

Impact on customers

As a consequence of the changes to legislation, investors holding ordinary shares in the local market who want to benefit from a reduced tax rate in accordance to a DTT may be required to submit eligibility documents to their Korean custodian.

Note: Customers are requested to see our Announcement A12065, dated 26 March 2012.

The MoSF has relaxed this requirement for investors holding American and Global Depository Receipts (ADRs and GDRs) such that customers will not be required to provide the Application for Reduced Tax Rate form on behalf of beneficial owners of ADRs and GDRs.

The new tax laws will not impact the reclaim process with regard to ADRs and GDRs for dividend events with record dates at the end of June 2012.

The maximum withholding tax rate (currently 22%) will be applied to any claimant for whom this information has not been provided by the deadline or is incomplete or inaccurate.

The deadline by which the customer must provide Clearstream Banking with the full address and ID number of beneficial owners will be published as a pre-notification per event.

Further information

For further information, please contact the Clearstream Banking Tax Help Desk on:

or Clearstream Banking Customer Service or your Relationship Officer.

1. Clearstream Banking refers collectively to Clearstream Banking AG, registered office at 61, Mergenthalerallee, 65760 Eschborn, Germany and registered in the Register B of the Amtsgericht Frankfurt am Main, Germany under number HRB 7500 (CBF) and Clearstream Banking, société anonyme, registered office at 42, avenue John F. Kennedy, L-1855 Luxembourg, and registered with the Luxembourg Register of Commerce and Companies under number B-9248 (CBL).