Singer and actor Cha Eun-woo, who stirred a tax evasion controversy, has paid the full amount of the additional tax, while complaints are being filed about Cha, who is currently serving in the military band.
On the 9th, posts spread on online communities saying that a complaint was filed requesting that Cha Eun-woo's military band assignment be changed.
The complainant, through the national petition system, said, "The military band assignment requires a higher level of appropriateness review and risk management than general assignments in terms of external trust and representation," and argued, "Given the scale and ripple effects of the controversy, there is a high risk that it will lead to a sense of relative deprivation among service members and damage trust in the fairness of the military organization."
The person added, "Because this is an issue directly tied to the service of a celebrity soldier, the military should proactively review the potential impact on its honor and morale," and said, "Please reexamine how maintaining Cha Eun-woo's military band assignment affects service members' morale."
It is known that in January, when suspicions of Cha Eun-woo's tax evasion were raised, the same complainant also submitted a petition calling for a change in Cha's military band assignment. At the time, the Ministry of National Defense reportedly responded that "the operation of service members' assignments is a matter judged comprehensively," indicating there was no possibility of a reassignment.
In January, one outlet reported that Cha Eun-woo received a notice from the National Tax Service to pay more than 20 billion won in additional income tax. Cha was said to have engaged in tax evasion by separately signing a management contract with a personal corporation and applying the lower corporate tax rate instead of the income tax rate, which can be as high as 45%.
However, the actual additional tax imposed on Cha Eun-woo is said to have been around 13 billion won, taking into account refunds for items subject to double taxation. The additional tax was recently paid in full.
On Apr. 8, Cha Eun-woo said on social media (SNS), "During a time of many changes and confusion in my activities, I established a corporation while preparing to continue my activities more stably." He added, "Looking back now, there were parts I failed to review adequately in the process, and the responsibility lies with me, not with my family or company."