Healthcare robot corporations Bodyfriend will terminate its advertising model contract with singer-actor Cha Eun-woo, who faces allegations of about 20 billion won in tax evasion.
Bodyfriend said on the 27th that it decided not to renew its contract with Cha Eun-woo, which expires in February. Since Aug. 2024, Bodyfriend has used Cha Eun-woo as an advertising model to run the "whole-body pleasure" campaign and has carried out various marketing activities, including customer-invited talk shows.
However, Bodyfriend is conducting an internal review on whether to stop using Cha Eun-woo's image in the ongoing Lunar New Year promotion "the standard of gifts." The promotion targets demand for filial piety gifts, and some promotional materials include Cha Eun-woo's image.
A Bodyfriend official said, "Some materials in the promotion include Cha Eun-woo's image, and some do not," and added, "We are reviewing whether to delete all images currently in use."
Meanwhile, Cha Eun-woo was reportedly notified by the National Tax Service of an additional income tax assessment exceeding 20 billion won. In May 2024, the Investigation Bureau 4 of the Seoul Regional Tax Service conducted an intensive tax audit over tax evasion allegations that Cha Eun-woo dispersed income through a one-person agency established by his mother. The additional assessment notified by the National Tax Service is known to be the largest tax ever imposed on an entertainer.