Actor Cha Eun-woo apologized once again over the tax evasion controversy and paid the assessed taxes, and colleagues in the entertainment industry also showed their support for him.
Cha Eun-woo said on his social account on the 8th, "I sincerely apologize for causing disappointment and confusion to many people, including fans, due to the recent tax payment controversy related to me." This was his second apology, posted about three months after the apology posted on Jan. 26.
Cha Eun-woo said, "I respect the National Tax Service's procedures and results, and I have paid all related taxes so that further confusion will not continue. I will faithfully carry out the remaining procedures as well," and "I am taking this matter more seriously and deeply. If there were parts I did not sufficiently check, the responsibility for that is entirely mine. I will not avoid responsibility with words such as 'I didn't know' or 'it was someone else's decision' for any reason."
Cha Eun-woo was reported to have been notified by the National Tax Service of a tax reassessment exceeding 20 billion won on suspicion of tax evasion, including income tax. The National Tax Service judged that B corporation, established by Cha Eun-woo's mother A, and his agency Fantagio entered into a service contract and distributed revenue among Fantagio, B corporation and Cha Eun-woo personally, and that B corporation was effectively a paper company that did not provide services. It concluded that Cha Eun-woo and his mother used the non-existent B corporation to receive a corporate tax rate more than 20% lower than the income tax rate to reduce income tax by as much as 45%.
In response, Cha Eun-woo's side said it planned to challenge the National Tax Service's decision on legal grounds but ultimately bowed out and paid the full assessed tax. Although it was reported that Cha Eun-woo paid 20 billion won, the actual amount was 13 billion won, and Cha Eun-woo's side only recently received the notice based on the appeal results and immediately completed payment.
Lee Joo-young, granddaughter of honorary chairman Lee Jun-yong of Daelim Group and daughter of Lee Hae-chang, CEO of Comtech, showed support by pressing "like," and following Lee Joo-young, actor Lee Sang-yoon publicly supported Cha Eun-woo by pressing "like." Lee Sang-yoon and Cha Eun-woo share the connection of having appeared together on Real Basketball, Handsome Tigers.
Amid colleagues' support, Cha Eun-woo said, "This incident made me feel desperately that I need to take a look at myself. Above all, it pains me most and I am sorry that I disappointed my fans and Aroha who believed in me," and "To prevent the same problem from recurring, I will inspect my future activities overall with more careful and strict standards."
Cha Eun-woo said, "I will work harder and harder to be Cha Eun-woo who takes full responsibility for my choices and actions to the end," expressing his intention to show a more mature side.
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