Comedian Lee Hyuk-jae explained, regarding the fact that he is in arrears of taxes amounting to several hundred million won, that "it was not intentional tax evasion."
On the 17th, the National Tax Service disclosed on its website the list and personal information of 9,666 individuals who have been in arrears of national taxes exceeding 200 million won for more than a year. Among them, Lee Hyuk-jae was listed for owing 223 million won.
Christian Memorial Center Co., Ltd., where he is a representative, also was included in the list of corporate high-value habitual defaulters for owing 330 million won in value-added taxes.
According to entertainment media outlet OSEN, he stated that "the amount overdue from transactions with corporations now exceeds 1 billion won, which is why I couldn't pay the taxes."
Lee Hyuk-jae mentioned that although he won a lawsuit against the transaction client, he has not yet received the money. He explained, "The company cannot pay the taxes right now. Since I'm the corporate representative, all recourse might be leaning on me."
He added, "What does it matter if I win a lawsuit? (The client) isn't paying, and it's driving me crazy," he noted, "I've never deliberately failed to pay taxes. Though there were times it was delayed due to situations, I paid all the interest as required by the state. There's prejudice against entrepreneurs like me just because I am a public figure."
He further expressed frustration by saying, "What I am entitled to receive is nearly 1.3 billion won. Once I receive it, I can pay. I have provided all the lawsuit documentation to the National Tax Service and personally explained it," he said. "What have I done wrong? I'm no longer a broadcaster. Do they want a person to die before it's over? I'm making efforts to revive a failed company."
Meanwhile, it was reported that the list of high-value habitual defaulters released by the National Tax Service this time includes not only Lee Hyuk-jae but also other public figures such as novelist Kim Jin-myung and Chef Edward Kwon.