Group ASTRO member and actor Cha Eun-woo was reportedly notified of a tax bill exceeding 20 billion won, and within about six hours advertisers began cutting ties, suggesting the seriousness of the matter.
On the 22nd, one outlet reported that Cha Eun-woo underwent an intensive investigation last year by the Seoul Regional Tax Service Investigation Division 4 on suspicion of tax evasion.
The tax office took issue with Cha Eun-woo's income structure. Corporation A, founded by Cha Eun-woo's mother, and the agency Fantagio entered into a service contract under the pretext of supporting Cha Eun-woo's entertainment activities. Afterwards, Cha Eun-woo's earnings were divided and distributed to Fantagio, corporation A, and Cha Eun-woo personally. The tax office judged that corporation A was a paper company that did not provide substantive services, and viewed that income that should have been attributed to the individual was dispersed to the corporation to avoid an individual income tax rate reaching up to 45% and thereby receive a relatively lower corporate tax rate.
The organization that turned its sword on Cha Eun-woo is Investigation Division 4 of the Seoul Regional Tax Service, known as the "reaper of the business world." It is a department known as the special tax audit team deployed when tips of tax evasion or allegations of slush funds are detected rather than regular tax inspections; it handles large corporations, high earners, figures related to politics and business, and major tax evasion cases. Therefore, being investigated by the Seoul Regional Tax Service Investigation Division 4 is often interpreted to mean there are serious allegations such as intentional tax evasion or embezzlement, not merely accounting errors.
Cha Eun-woo's side said, "This matter centers on whether the corporation established by Cha Eun-woo's mother is subject to substantive taxation, and it is not a matter that has been finally confirmed and notified. We will actively provide explanations through lawful procedures regarding the issues related to legal interpretation and application. The artist and the tax representative will sincerely cooperate so that the procedures can be completed promptly," they said.
As tax evasion allegations against Cha Eun-woo arose and his agency issued a statement, the advertising industry reacted sensitively and moved. OSEN confirmed that the skincare brand Abib made Cha Eun-woo's videos on its YouTube channel private. The videos are currently unplayable with messages such as "This video cannot be played" and "This is a private video."
While ambassador photos on the official homepage have not been deleted, Abib has not disclosed the reason why it made Cha Eun-woo's videos private. However, since the videos were made private after allegations of Cha Eun-woo's tax evasion surfaced, it can be assumed to be an effect of that.
Cha Eun-woo, who is currently serving in the military, serves as the face of various companies. With his activities spanning finance, fashion, beauty, distribution and other fields, and given that Cha Eun-woo's side has said it will actively explain the situation, attention is fixed on how the advertising industry will receive the issue and respond.
Meanwhile, Cha Eun-woo enlisted in July last year and is currently serving in the military. His discharge date is Jan. 2027, and this year he is set to have the Netflix series "Wonderfuls" released.
[OSEN]