Actor Kim Seon-ho is preparing the play, which is about to open, as scheduled amid allegations of tax evasion.
On the 4th, the production of the play "Secret Passage" told OSEN, "At present, we are preparing to open as scheduled," adding cautiously, "We will inform you if there are any changes."
Kim Seon-ho is scheduled to open the play "Secret Passage" on the 13th. "Secret Passage" is a story that deals with life and death, the ties and death encountered through books containing intertwined memories between two people who meet in an unfamiliar space having lost their memories of life, and the review of repeated lives, focusing on relationships and death read in the small gaps between them. In the play, Kim Seon-ho will play the role of Dong-jae, a man who seems to have been spending familiar times for some time, and will meet audiences alongside actors Yang Kyung-won and Kim Sungkyu.
However, on the 1st, just 12 days before the opening, allegations of tax evasion and embezzlement surrounding Kim Seon-ho surfaced. Reports emerged that Kim Seon-ho had set up and operated a separate performance planning company at his home address, paid salaries ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions of won to his parents listed as inside directors under the corporate name, and then the parents transferred the salaries back to Kim Seon-ho. In addition, it was reported that Kim Seon-ho's parents used a corporate-owned card to pay living and entertainment expenses, adding suspicions of embezzlement and breach of trust.
Meanwhile, agency Fantagio said, "The single-person corporation in the past was established for the production of the play and play-related activities, and it was never established for the purpose of intentional tax reduction or tax evasion," adding, "After moving to Fantagio, actual business activities have not been carried out for about a year, and we are currently undergoing closure procedures in accordance with relevant laws and procedures."
The controversy deepened as it was revealed that settlement payments for entertainment activities had been received through the corporation while he was with a previous agency. If income were recorded under Kim Seon-ho personally, income tax including local government tax could be up to 49.5%, but if processed as corporate income, a corporate tax benefit of up to 19% would apply, making it highly likely to be regarded as "income diversion." In response, Fantagio said, "It is true that after the corporation was established in January 2024, a temporary settlement was received (from the previous agency)," and the former agency explained, "We merely deposited the settlement payment to the place the actor requested."
As the controversy grew, fashion brand Beanpole made Kim Seon-ho's advertising model teaser video private. As a result, there are concerns that the release schedules for his next projects—TVING's In the Net, Disney+'s Portraits of Delusion, and tvN's May the lawmaker protect you—could be affected. Regarding this, the production of Portraits of Delusion said, "No release timing or schedule has been confirmed yet." In particular, because "Secret Passage" is close to opening, it has been placed in an even more awkward position.
[photo] OSEN DB
[OSEN]