Amid allegations of tax evasion surrounding actor Kim Seon-ho, his agency said "there is no problem whatsoever" and that "the single-person corporation is undergoing closure procedures."
On the afternoon of the 1st, the agency Fantagio issued an official statement saying, "Currently Kim Seon-ho is active under exclusive contracts with Fantagio and in his personal name, and legal and tax procedures related to the current contractual relationship and activities are being faithfully complied with," and added, "We clearly state that there is no problem whatsoever regarding the contract and activities of Kim Seon-ho and agency Fantagio."
They went on to explain, "The single-person corporation mentioned in reports was established for theater production and theater-related activities, and it was never established for the purpose of intentional tax avoidance or tax evasion. However, after moving to Fantagio, actual business activities have not been carried out for about a year, and currently closure procedures are underway in accordance with relevant laws and procedures."
Fantagio also emphasized, "We will continue to comply with relevant laws and procedures in all activities and will do our best to ensure the actor's activities can continue without unnecessary misunderstanding."
Earlier, one media outlet raised suspicions that Kim Seon-ho appears to have created a family corporation separate from his current agency Fantagio and engaged in practical tax evasion. It pointed out that Kim Seon-ho and Cha Eun-woo are both under the same agency Fantagio and argued that Cha Eun-woo and Kim Seon-ho have very similar "tax-saving (tax evasion) structures" to the recent socially explosive "200 billion won tax evasion controversy."
According to the report, Kim Seon-ho is said to have created and operated a separate performance planning company at his home address in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Kim Seon-ho is the chief executive of this corporation, and the internal director Mr. Kim and auditor Mr. Park are said to be Kim Seon-ho's parents. Although the business purpose included entertainment-related business, it was pointed out that the corporation did not register for public performing arts culture planning. It also explained that forming a board of directors composed only of family members without outside professional managers appears to be a setup to flexibly operate company funds at the family level.
The media outlet said it secured testimony that Kim Seon-ho used the corporate bank to pay his parents monthly salaries ranging from a few hundred thousand won to several million won, and that the parents who received salaries from this corporation then transferred the salaries back to Kim Seon-ho each month. It reported that Kim Seon-ho's parents used the corporation's card to pay living and entertainment expenses, that his father covered cigarette and karaoke bar payments with the corporate card, and that the vehicle they used was registered under the corporation's name.
It suggested the intent was to reduce corporate tax by increasing company expenses and treating them as deductible costs, and suspected private use of the corporate card amounted to breach of trust and embezzlement. It also claimed that the corporation's address and Kim Seon-ho's residence address are the same, making it difficult to dismiss suspicions that it is a paper company.
The following is the full official statement from Kim Seon-ho's agency
Hello.
This is Fantagio, the agency of actor Kim Seon-ho.
We are issuing an official statement regarding the report published today about Kim Seon-ho's operation of a single-person corporation.
Currently Kim Seon-ho is active under exclusive contracts with Fantagio and in his personal name, and legal and tax procedures related to the current contractual relationship and activities are being faithfully complied with.
We clearly state that there is no problem whatsoever regarding the contract and activities of Kim Seon-ho and agency Fantagio.
The single-person corporation mentioned in reports was established for theater production and theater-related activities, and it was never established for the purpose of intentional tax avoidance or tax evasion. However, after moving to Fantagio, actual business activities have not been carried out for about a year, and currently closure procedures are underway in accordance with relevant laws and procedures.
We will continue to comply with relevant laws and procedures in all activities and will do our best to ensure the actor's activities can continue without unnecessary misunderstanding.
Thank you.
Fantagio Dream<
[Photo] OSEN DB
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