The Advertising Industry Begins To Distance Itself From Cha Eun Woo Following Tax Evasion Allegations, Several Ads Videos Privated
Of the many ads Cha Eun Woo is a part of, some began to distance themselves and delete or private videos featuring the idol-actor. This is happening amid the ongoing tax evasion controversy.
On the 27th of January, the brand Daesung MyMac made Cha Eun Woo’s advertisement video, which had been publicly available on its official social media, private in the afternoon. The video, which had been prominently pinned at the top just that morning, now cannot be played and shows a message saying “Unavailable.”
The exact reason for the video being made private has not been officially announced, but it is interpreted as a result of the backlash from Cha Eun Woo’s tax evasion allegations.
On the 26th of January, according to OSEN, the fashion brand Marithé François Girbaud made Cha Eun Woo’s videos and posts on its YouTube channel and other platforms private. The videos now cannot be played and show messages such as “Cannot play video” and “Private video.”
Marithé François Girbaud had selected Cha Eun Woo as a model in March last year. In particular, the brand had previously told a media outlet that there were no deletions or special changes to Cha Eun Woo-related photos and videos posted on SNS and YouTube. However, less than five hours later, the brand made the content related to Cha Eun Woo private.
More Brands across finance, beauty, fashion, and education have taken down content that showcased Cha Eun Woo. The Ministry of National Defense has also participated in cutting ties. On the 27th, the video “That Day in the Military,” in which Cha Eun Woo appeared, was made private on the YouTube channel “KFN Plus,” run by the Defense Media Agency. In the video, Cha Eun Woo shared the story of a hero who helped war orphans and appeared as a promotional soldier for the Ministry of National Defense. However, as the controversy around him emerged, the Ministry also made videos featuring Cha Eun Woo private.
Cha Eun Woo, who is an artist under Fantagio, is suspected of establishing a separate corporation under his family’s name to distribute his income structure and reduce his tax burden. In relation to this, the National Tax Service notified Cha Eun Woo to pay additional taxes exceeding 20 billion won, including income tax.
Meanwhile, 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 just four days later. Then, his agencyissued a 2nd statement asking fans not to overinterpret while the assessment is ongoing.
