Singer and actor Cha Eunwoo has been engulfed in allegations of tax evasion amounting to the 20-billion-won range.
On the morning of the 22nd, Cha Eunwoo's agency Fantagio told OSEN, "We are just learning of the news and are organizing our position," and added, "We will announce an exact position soon."
Earlier that day, one media outlet reported that Cha Eunwoo had been notified by the National Tax Service of a tax assessment exceeding 20 billion won for alleged tax evasion including income tax. This is the largest assessment ever imposed on an entertainer to date.
According to the report, as a result of a tax audit that targeted Cha Eunwoo before he enlisted in the military in July of last year, Cha Eunwoo's side is currently awaiting the result of a "pre-assessment administrative review" they requested in opposition to the National Tax Service's decision.
Earlier, Cha Eunwoo underwent an intensive investigation by the Seoul Regional Tax Service's Investigation Division 4 last spring on allegations of tax evasion. The tax evasion allegations raised against Cha Eunwoo are said to have a structure similar to the suspected tax evasion through "one-person agencies" recently alleged against many entertainers such as Sung Si Kyung and Ok Joo Hyun.
The outlet said that in Cha Eunwoo's case, his mother, Ms. Choi, set up Company A, which intervened between his main agency Fantagio and Cha Eunwoo. Fantagio and Company A signed a contract for services to support Cha Eunwoo's entertainment activities, and from that point the income Cha Eunwoo earned is known to have been divided among Fantagio, Company A and Cha Eunwoo.
However, the National Tax Service judged that Company A was a "paper company" that did not actually provide services. It is reported that the agency believes Cha Eunwoo and his mother set up the non-substantive Company A to split income to reduce income tax of up to 45% and thereby improperly receive a corporate tax rate more than 20 percentage points lower than the individual income tax rate.
Meanwhile, Cha Eunwoo enlisted after successfully applying to the Ministry of National Defense military band in May of last year and has been serving since July of that year. His scheduled discharge date is Jan. 27, 2027.<
[Photo] OSEN DB
[OSEN]