Fantagio Releases 2nd Statement Regarding Cha Eun Woo’s Tax Evasion Allegations As Controversy Spreads Uncontrollably
As the controversy over actor Cha Eun Woo’s (29) alleged tax evasion of around 20 billion won [around $13.8 million] spreads uncontrollably, his agency once again issued an apology and moved to manage the situation.
His agency, Fantagio, released a statement on the 27th of January, saying, “We sincerely apologize for causing concern to many people due to various situations related to Cha Eun Woo. We feel a heavy responsibility that controversy arose regarding matters related to the agency and our artist.”
The agency said it would take necessary measures after legal and administrative judgments. Fantagio stated, “The currently raised matter is at a stage where facts are being verified according to procedures by the tax authorities, and the agency and the artist are faithfully participating in the investigation within the necessary scope. In the future, if legal and administrative judgments become clear, we will responsibly take the necessary measures based on the results.”
They also requested that unverified information not be spread or overinterpreted. They said, “We sincerely request that indiscriminate speculation, the spread of unverified information, and excessive overinterpretation regarding the claims and suspicions raised by some parties be refrained from.”
Additionally, they said, “We will use this incident as an opportunity to review our artist management system once again and do our best to supplement and strengthen the necessary systems so that similar controversies do not recur in the future.”
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. 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. Fantagio was fined 8.2 billion won last August, and Cha Eun Woo filed a pre-assessment review objecting to the National Tax Service’s decision.
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 just four days later. Cha Eun Woo enlisted in July last year, and there are suspicions that he might have tried to evade the controversy.
Source: (A)
