The mother of singer-actor Cha Eun-woo (birth name Lee Dong-min) was found to have recently changed the address of a corporation she established from Ganghwa Island to Gangnam District.
Incheon Ganghwa County Office conducted an on-site inspection on the 26th of a limited liability company, Company A, which had registered as its address an eel restaurant that Cha Eun-woo's mother had operated. No facilities for business operations, such as an office or fixtures, were identified.
However, it was revealed that on that day the corporation completed an address change transfer from Ganghwa County to Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam District, Seoul. An address change application was filed with the Gangnam District Office in Seoul, and the Ganghwa County Office processed the move-out on the same day.
This timing drew attention as it coincided with the day Cha Eun-woo issued his first official statement on social media (SNS) four days after the tax evasion controversy erupted.
The eel restaurant at issue opened in 2020 under Cha Eun-woo's mother's name and had been operated for about five years. After Cha enlisted in July last year, it underwent remodeling work, but operations are currently suspended and the construction is also said to have stopped.
Cha Eun-woo underwent an intensive tax audit last year by the Investigation Bureau 4 of the Seoul Regional Tax Service and was recently notified of an additional income tax assessment of about 20 billion won. As the controversy grew, Cha, who was serving in the military, apologized on SNS, saying, "I deeply reflect on my attitude toward my duty to pay taxes."
However, regarding his enlistment during the tax audit, he denied the suspicion, saying it was "not an enlistment to evade scrutiny but simply that the timing could no longer be delayed."
His agency Fantagio also said, "Whether the corporation in question is actually subject to taxation is the key issue, and the taxation has not yet been finalized," adding, "We will faithfully follow the procedures of the tax authorities and take responsible action according to future legal and administrative decisions."