A singer and actor Cha Eun-woo is facing fallout from allegations of massive tax evasion that have spread beyond military promotional content to issues regarding his military assignment.
Amid recent controversy over additional income tax assessments, it was confirmed that videos featuring Cha Eun-woo that had been posted on the YouTube channel 'KFN Plus,' run by the Defense Media Agency, were set to private. According to military authorities on the 28th, four episodes of the "That day: military stories" series in which Cha Eun-woo appeared have been removed from the current public list. Cha Eun-woo enlisted in July last year and had served as the series' storyteller since December of the same year.
At the same time, a petition asking that his military assignment be reexamined was filed. On the same day, a post appeared on an online community claiming that a petition had been submitted to the national petition portal requesting a review of the suitability of Cha Eun-woo (real name Lee Dong-min)'s assignment to the military band.
The author noted that the military band is a unit with high symbolic value and public exposure because it supports central government-hosted events, national day events, presidential events, various national commemorations and protocol events, and argued the need to reexamine the assignment on the grounds that "because this is an issue with large ripple effects, it could affect the fairness of military organization and troop morale."
They also said, "Military service is a duty, not a privilege, and a soldier's dignity is directly tied to the honor of the entire military organization," and added, "Even if tax procedures are ongoing, proactive management is needed given the seriousness of the matter." The petition has been received by the Ministry of National Defense and is said to be under review by the oversight line of his unit.
Earlier, Cha Eun-woo posted an apology on his personal social media on the 26th, saying, "I am reflecting on my attitude toward my tax obligations," and "I will sincerely comply with tax-related procedures." He also denied allegations of an "enlistment to escape controversy," saying, "Enlisting was not a choice to avoid controversy."
However, he did not separately address the specific tax allegations and detailed issues related to them. His agency Fantagio also issued an additional statement, but some members of the public still expressed lingering doubts.
For now, attention is focused on how the related tax procedures and any internal military review will proceed.
[Photo] 'OSEN DB'
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