"I'm stupid if I don't." Cha Eun-woo's eel restaurant, Lee Ha-nui's gomtang restaurant, and the status of a single-person agency "Cutting Board" (Straight) [synthesis]

*This content was translated by AI.

The address of the one-man agency of Cha Eun-woo and actor Lee Ha-nui, a member of the group Astro, is controversial. In addition, problems have been raised about the form in which famous celebrities purchase buildings and earn property through corporations.

MBC's current affairs and culture program "Straight," which aired on the 8th, was decorated with "One-man agency, or are you stupid if you don't?" to investigate the actual conditions of one-man agencies of celebrities such as Cha Eun-woo, Lee Ha-nee, Hwang Jung-eum, and Lee Byung-hun.

On this day, "Straight" visited Ganghwa-gun, the address of Cha Eun-woo's one-man agency, which was recently notified of an additional 20 billion won from the National Tax Service, and said, "I couldn't see any traces of an entertainment management agency anywhere, but it is registered as the headquarters of a one-man agency."

An incumbent tax accountant said, "When you go out of a tax audit, the first thing to check is the location of the workplace and whether there is a substance of this workplace. You can see if it's a real company," he said. The CEO of Cha Eun-woo's single-person agency, established in 2019, was Cha Eun-woo's mother, and Cha Eun-woo and his younger brother were listed as in-house directors, and his father was listed as auditor.

"Straight" said, "It is not illegal to settle profits through a single-person company, but if the company was just a paper company that does not actually work as an agency, it can be seen as paying low corporate taxes instead of high income taxes. In the end, the National Tax Service believes that it should be viewed as an income tax evasion, adding, "In July 2020, Cha Eun-woo Corporation bought buildings, land, and nearby forests, including charcoal-grilled eel restaurants. With a total area of about 4,500 pyeong, the purchase amount was 1.75 billion won, of which 800 million won was borrowed in the name of the corporation. In February last year, the land right in front of the restaurant was purchased for 1.1 billion won under the name of the corporation. I bought real estate that is the size of three soccer fields, but it is unclear what kind of activities I did as an entertainment agency," he pointed out.

Regarding the change of the corporate form from a stock company to a limited liability company, he said, "Unlike a stock company, there is no obligation to disclose and audit outside, making it difficult to confirm whether another real estate investment has been made and whether the cost has been handled properly." In response, the agency Fantagio said, "Cha Eun-woo's mother has been carrying out management tasks to support entertainment activities. Based on the evidence to support, we are in the process of receiving a legitimate judgment," he said.

He also expressed doubts about Lee Ha-nui's one-man agency. Located in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, the restaurant famous for beef and gomtang is said to have been registered as a branch of Lee Ha-nui's one-man agency, Hope Project.

Straight was not seen as an entertainment agency anywhere in the restaurant building. Currently, she changed the name of the corporation to Hope Project and her husband, who is a U.S. national, is the CEO and Lee Ha-nui is the in-house director," she said.

In September last year, Lee Ha-nee and the Hope Project were subject to an irregular tax audit by the Seoul Regional Tax Office and received a tax surcharge of 6 billion won. Regarding suspicions that he was using a single-person agency to reduce taxes and seek capital gains after investing in real estate, Timhoff, the original agency, explained in a "Straight" that "the building was intended to be used as the location of the corporate headquarters and complex culture and arts spaces, but due to the delay in the ownership transfer process, the existing tenant's lease contract was maintained."

However, "Straight" questioned, "It is difficult to understand that the transfer of ownership on the register was completed in 2020, and it has been leased as a restaurant so far."

In addition, "Straight" said that actors Ryu Jun-yeol, Hwang Jung-eum, and Lee Byung-hun bought the building through a corporation, "Lending is relatively easy, but from loan interest, building maintenance costs are treated as corporate expenses, and profits from building sales are also lower than individuals." These benefits are being used to increase the wealth of celebrities," he said.

An entertainment official said on the show, "I have to do it. Those who don't are stupid. Everyone who does well does that. The intention is to not pay taxes to the country," he said.

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*This content was translated by AI.