TRENDING: Cha Eun Woo Ultimately Pays 20 Billion Won In Taxes, Reveals He Settled Everything In Apology Statement
Cha Eun Woo (real name Lee Dong Min), a member of ASTRO and actor, has resolved the 20 billion won ($13,536,608) tax evasion controversy by paying it.
On the 8th of April, he posted a new statement to his official Instagram account. He wrote, “I sincerely apologize for causing disappointment and confusion to fans and many others due to the recent tax controversy related to me.”
That day, he said, “I respect the procedures and results of the National Tax Service, and to prevent further confusion, I have paid all related taxes. I will also faithfully comply with the remaining procedures.”
He also stated, “If there were parts I failed to examine thoroughly, the responsibility lies entirely with me,” and added, “I will not avoid it by saying ‘I didn’t know’ or ‘it was someone else’s judgment’ for any reason.”
In addition, he said, “During a time of various changes and confusion in my activities, I established a corporation to continue my work more stably, but looking back now, there were parts I did not examine thoroughly, and I believe the responsibility lies not with my family or company, but with me.”
Lastly, he said, “To ensure the same issue does not happen again, I will review all my future activities with more careful and strict standards.”
Previously, allegations arose that he had evaded taxes through a corporation established by his mother, leading to approximately 20 billion KRW in additional taxes being imposed, which caused major controversy.
Previously, The Seoul Regional Tax Office conducted a high-intensity tax investigation on Cha Eun Woo in the first half of last year and notified him of additional income taxes exceeding 20 billion won [over $13.8 million]. The National Tax Service believes that in the process of splitting the income earned by Cha Eun Woo with Fantagio, Cha Eun Woo and his mother, Ms. Choi, used a paper company to reduce income tax by 45%, allowing them to be taxed at a corporate tax rate more than 20 percentage points lower than the income tax rate, thereby evading taxes.
After the tax evasion controversy broke on the 22nd of January, the agency said it would “actively explain the situation through legal procedures.” However, as advertisers began deleting promotional content related to Cha Eun Woo and public criticism became overwhelming, Cha Eun Woo, currently serving in the military, issued his own statement and apology on social media. Then, his agency issued a 2nd statement asking fans not to overinterpret while the assessment is ongoing.
