At that time, prosecutors found that Lee owned assets, believed to be inherited from his father and the founder of Samsung Group, Lee Byung-chull, in about 1,200 accounts held by his lieutenants.

Earlier this month, Rep. Park Yong-jin of the governing Democratic Party raised allegations that financial authorities had allowed Lee to inherit the assets without paying taxes.

A 1993 law requires South Koreans to open their bank or other financial accounts using their real names.

Authorities can levy taxes on 99 percent of interest and dividend income earned from "non real-name assets."

When asked by Park on Monday over whether the FSC agrees with levying taxes against such assets, Choi replied that he agreed.

Choi told lawmakers that financial authorities will look into the procedure of withdrawing money from the borrowed-name accounts, closing them and switching them into Lee's accounts.

Park, the lawmaker, said authorities could collect taxes worth tens of millions of dollars from Lee if the procedure had been carried out in accordance with established rules.

Lee has been hospitalized since suffering a heart attack in 2014. (Yonhap)