*This content was translated by AI.
Ganghwa County Office has launched an investigation into the family corporation of Cha Eun-woo (29, real name Lee Dong-min), a member and actor of the group Astro who is suspected of tax evasion worth 20 billion won.
On the 26th, Ganghwa County Office of Incheon Metropolitan City reportedly launched an investigation after receiving a complaint about a limited liability company B corporation with Cha Eun-woo as an executive and his mother A serving as the CEO.
Recently, a complaint was posted in the National Newspaper of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission that there should be a general investigation into the registration of B corporation's pop culture and arts planning business.
Based on the civil complaints, Ganghwa-gun plans to visit the address of corporation B to check the status of building operations.
Corporation B was registered as a pop culture and art planning business in December 2022, and had an address at a restaurant specializing in eel in Buleun-myeon, Ganghwa-gun. The restaurant has been run by Cha Eun-woo's parents, but in the past, Cha Eun-woo promoted it as his "single-goal house" and is well known to the public.
Corporation B was reorganized into a limited liability company in September 2024 and has been maintained until now, and Cha Eun-woo's brother was listed as an in-house director before the organization change, and Cha Eun-woo's father was listed as an auditor.
Regarding the change of the corporation to a limited liability company, some analysts say that it is intended to avoid external audits. Unlike corporations, limited liability companies are characterized by not having to appoint external auditors and not having to disclose audit reports.
In December last year, after undergoing a tax audit by the National Tax Service, Cha Eun-woo moved his address to an office in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.
If there is a change in the address, etc., the pop culture and arts planning business entity shall register the change. Failure to do so may result in business suspension or a fine of up to 50 million won. The complainant reportedly asked the authorities to investigate this.
In the first half of last year, the National Tax Service's investigation bureau 4 conducted a high-intensity tax investigation against Cha Eun-woo and notified him of the additional income tax of more than 20 billion won. This is the largest amount ever imposed on a domestic entertainer.
Cha Eun-woo's income was shared by his agency Fantagio and Cha Eun-woo, a corporation A founded by Cha Eun-woo's mother Choi. The National Tax Service believes that Cha Eun-woo and Choi used a trick to reduce income tax, which is 45 percent, to apply a corporate tax rate that is more than 20 percent lower than the income tax rate by using a non-substantial corporation A.
Cha Eun-woo appointed Sejong, one of the five largest law firms in Korea, and is preparing legal procedures for the taxation disposition of the National Tax Service.
Cha Eun-woo joined the army in July last year and is serving as an army military band, and his scheduled discharge date is January 27, 2027.
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*This content was translated by AI.
