Actor Kim Seon-ho is haunted by the nightmare from five years ago that he does not even want to think about.
Kim Seon-ho is currently embroiled in allegations that he created a family corporation separate from his agency Fantagio and effectively engaged in tax evasion.
He is said to have created and operated a separate performance planning company at his home address in Yongsan District, Seoul, and the company director and auditor are reported to be Kim Seon-ho's parents. Kim Seon-ho used the corporate bank to pay his parents a salary, and it was reported that the parents who received the salary then transferred the money back to Kim Seon-ho. It was also reported that Kim Seon-ho's parents used the corporate card to pay for living expenses and entertainment, and because the planning company was not registered as a public culture and arts planning business and shared the same address as Kim Seon-ho's residence, suspicions of a paper company have also arisen.
Fantagio said, "The single-person corporation in the past was established for theater production and theater-related activities, and it was not established for the purpose of deliberate tax avoidance or tax evasion. After transferring to Fantagio, actual business activities have not been carried out for about a year, and we are currently undergoing the closure process in accordance with relevant laws and procedures."
With the agency's official position not providing a complete explanation, it was reported that Kim Seon-ho received settlement payments through that single-person corporation when he belonged to his previous agency. Fantagio said, "It is correct that there was a temporary settlement received (from the previous agency) after the corporation was established in January 2024," and the previous agency said, "We simply deposited the settlement into the account requested by the actor."
The advertising industry began to react sensitively to the tax evasion allegations. On the 3rd, fashion brand Beanpole deleted the teaser video for its 2026 spring collection that had been uploaded to its official account. The teaser video disappeared from Beanpole's official social media and YouTube, and the YouTube video was set so that it could only be viewed by entering the link as limited access.
This is not the first time Kim Seon-ho has experienced advertisers cutting ties. He went through a similar experience in 2021 when he was embroiled in controversy related to an ex-girlfriend. At that time, Kim Seon-ho rose as a blue-chip in advertising, serving as the face of various brands including pizza, e-commerce, cameras and beauty products after consecutive successes with Start - Up and Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha.
But as the private life controversy related to his ex-girlfriend became known, the advertising industry distanced itself from Kim Seon-ho. Beauty brands, pizza brands, e-commerce companies and camera brands deleted or switched to private the posts that featured Kim Seon-ho as their face.
After suffering the private life controversy related to his ex-girlfriend, Kim Seon-ho rebuilt his footing through theater and was able to rise again through films and dramas. But just as he was getting back on track, the tax evasion allegations surfaced, and he faced the unpleasant experience of advertisers cutting ties again.
Meanwhile, Kim Seon-ho is slated to appear in TVING's "In the Net," Disney+'s "Portraits of Delusion," and tvN's "Euiwon-nim-i Bowhasa," among others. With the tax evasion allegations casting a red light over his upcoming projects, the "In the Net" side said, "It was discussed as a TVING original drama but scheduling fell through early on regardless of this matter." "Euiwon-nim-i Bowhasa" is understood to be still in the pre-crank-in stage.
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