Cha Eun-woo faces continued unfavorable views despite having paid 13 billion won in taxes amid tax evasion allegations. "He held out and held out and had no choice but to pay 13 billion won," is a common reaction, but when you know the full story, there are quite a few parts that differ from the actual facts.
Cha Eun-woo caused social upheaval with allegations of "200 billion won in tax evasion," but the actual amount confirmed to have been paid to the National Tax Service was in the 13 billion won range. On the 9th, agency Fantagio said, "Part of the amount paid will be adjusted according to the National Tax Service's refund procedures, and through our accountants we were informed that the actual burden will be about 13 billion won," and released an official statement saying, "As personal income tax has been fully paid, there will be a procedure to refund the portion of corporate tax and value-added taxes that were doubly taxed among the amounts previously paid."
OSEN reporting on the 9th found that in January of this year Cha Eun-woo tried to pay taxes immediately after the allegations of 20 billion won in tax evasion became public, but in this case the system prevented him from prepaying even if he wanted to. Payment required a bill to be issued, and because one had not been issued until recently, Cha Eun-woo himself could not have known the confirmed amount of "13 billion won." The widely publicized "200 billion won in tax evasion" was at best an estimate, not a confirmed amount.
Pre-assessment review procedures are not typically judged by a simple win-or-lose concept but are decided depending on whether the review upholds the claim. While that procedure is ongoing, the tax amount to be paid is not confirmed, so even if one wanted to pay, payment was not possible. Cha Eun-woo's side only recently received the bill after the review result was upheld and immediately completed payment. There was no deliberate delay of results or intentional postponement of payment.
Some have criticized, "If you were going to pay like this in the end, why didn't you pay sooner and why did you hold out and engage in a standoff?", "Why did you avoid responsibility and stall for time?", "Didn't you fail to find a way and end up paying reluctantly?", and many other criticisms have poured in. Although he paid taxes amounting to 13 billion won, the public, who do not know the full circumstances before and after the matter, can easily be misled.
Previously, many celebrities besides Cha Eun-woo have caused controversies over tax evasion, and in most cases related articles were reported around the time the pre-assessment review results came out. However, in Cha Eun-woo's case, an unusually early article was published earlier this year and the "estimated 20 billion won" became entrenched as if it were a confirmed amount, causing the repercussions to swell widely. It was not that he held out for about three months to avoid paying taxes and only now paid 13 billion won; the accurate sequence is that he waited because he could not receive the bill showing the confirmed amount and paid immediately as soon as the bill was issued recently.
A close associate of Cha Eun-woo told OSEN, "He never deliberately delayed payment," and at the same time apologized again for this series of events, bowed his head and expressed remorse.
On the 8th, Cha Eun-woo wrote on social media, "I respect the National Tax Service's procedures and results, and to prevent further confusion I have paid all related taxes. I will also faithfully attend to the remaining procedures," and added, "Having worked amid much love and support, I accept this matter more gravely and deeply. If there were parts I failed to sufficiently examine, that responsibility rests with me. For any reason I will not avoid responsibility by saying 'I didn't know' or 'it was someone's decision.'"
Regarding the establishment of a personal corporation, he said, "I set up the corporation in the process of preparing to continue my activities more stably during a time of various changes and confusion, but looking back now, there were parts I did not sufficiently examine in that process, and I think that responsibility lies with me, not my family or company," and "This incident made me feel the need to take a hard look at myself. Above all, it pains and saddens me most to have disappointed the fans and Aroha who trusted me. To prevent the same problem from recurring, I will review my future activities more carefully and under stricter standards. I will work harder and harder to be Cha Eun-woo who takes full responsibility for his choices and actions to the end," he promised.
On the same day, Fantagio also apologized on its official website, saying, "We consider this matter not a simple individual case but a serious issue stemming from the company's lack of management responsibility. As a company that must manage and support all aspects of an artist's activities, we failed to sufficiently inspect the matter in advance and recognize and reflect seriously on shortcomings in the management process."
It added, "Fantagio is currently conducting a full review of internal management systems and decision-making processes, and is implementing substantial improvements such as strengthening pre-verification procedures including tax and legal reviews. We will faithfully attend to related procedures and continuously supplement internal control systems to prevent recurrence of similar cases," and emphasized, "Because Fantagio operates based on public trust, we will deeply reflect on this matter and repay it with responsible change."
[Photo] OSEN DB
[OSEN]