Singer and actor Cha Eun-woo has been embroiled in allegations of tax evasion in the 20 billion won range, the largest amount ever for an entertainer, and the eel restaurant run by his mother, which was suspected of being a paper company, has closed. In addition, a restaurant in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul, with a similar name to the newly opened one was revealed to be operated by the agency, not Cha Eun-woo's family.
On the 4th, a Fantagio official told OSEN, "The currently operating 'Eojeyeon Cheongdam' is a completely different corporation from Ganghwa's 'Eojeyeon charcoal-grilled eel.' 'Eojeyeon Cheongdam' is operated by Fantagio's 100% subsidiary Fantagio M.
'Eojeyeon charcoal-grilled eel' was a restaurant Cha Eun-woo's parents operated at a location in Ganghwa. The same address as that restaurant had been registered as the address of corporation A, of which Cha Eun-woo's mother was the representative. Cha Eun-woo is accused of tax evasion by receiving settlement payments from Fantagio through corporation A and applying the corporate tax rate instead of personal income tax.
Meanwhile, Eojeyeon charcoal-grilled eel was suspected of having moved late last year to a place called 'Eojeyeon Cheongdam' in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. With corporation A also registered for real estate rental business, controversy arose over whether the address was set in Ganghwa, a nonregulated area, to avoid Seoul's real estate regulations. As a result, tax investigators raised the possibility that corporation A was a paper company.
In this regard, Fantagio drew a line on the suspicions surrounding 'Eojeyeon Cheongdam' and 'Eojeyeon charcoal-grilled eel.' The 'Eojeyeon charcoal-grilled eel' that Cha Eun-woo's mother had operated is currently closed. The address of corporation A was also changed on Dec. 23 last year to an office in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.
Fantagio's subsidiary Fantagio M was registered on July 11 last year as a company for popular culture and arts planning. It is known to have been established by Fantagio as a subsidiary corporation for developing new talent.
In addition, the National Tax Service is reportedly closely examining corporation A's and Cha Eun-woo's income structures and whether there were genuine business activities. Fantagio is also being investigated alongside them because it is implicated in Cha Eun-woo's tax evasion allegations.
Cha Eun-woo was recently notified by the Seoul Regional Tax Service's Investigation Division 4 of a supplementary collection in the 20 billion won range. This is the largest supplementary tax collection for tax evasion by an entertainer in history.
[Photo] OSEN DB.
[OSEN]