'Tax Evasion Controversy' Cha Eun-woo Becomes 'Apostle John' in the Military [Star Issue]

*This content was translated by AI.

Astro member and actor Cha Eun-woo has publicly revealed his religion for the first time since his debut.

According to NEWS1 on the 1st, Cha Eun-woo received Catholic baptism while serving in the military.

Cha Eun-woo's baptismal name is 'Apostle John.' Notably, he had never mentioned his religion even once since his debut in 2016, drawing significant attention from fans and the public to his formal conversion to Catholicism.

In response, his agency Fantagio stated, "It is correct that Cha Eun-woo received Catholic baptism in June."

Cha Eun-woo enlisted as an active-duty soldier in the Army last July and is currently serving at the military band. His scheduled discharge date is January 27 next year.

Recently, he faced allegations of evading taxes amounting to approximately 20 billion won.

Last year, the Seoul Regional National Tax Service's Investigation Bureau conducted a rigorous tax investigation against Cha Eun-woo and his agency Fantagio. The National Tax Service determined that A Corporation, established under the name of Cha Eun-woo's mother, Ms. Choi, was effectively a 'paper company' with no real substance. It is reported that high-income advertising model fees and appearance fees, which should have been attributed to Cha Eun-woo, were distributed between A Corporation and his agency through a fictitious service contract, allowing them to apply the relatively lower corporate tax rate instead of the personal income tax rate of up to 45%, thereby evading taxes.

As a result, the National Tax Service notified Cha Eun-woo of a tax reassessment amounting to 20 billion won, which is the largest case of tax recovery in South Korea's entertainment industry history. Ultimately, it was reported that Cha Eun-woo paid all the taxes he was notified of last month. The amount Cha Eun-woo paid is believed to be around 13 billion won. It appears that some of the corporate income tax and value-added tax previously paid were recognized as double taxation, leading to a refund.

In May, Netflix's original series 'Wonderfuls,' which Cha Eun-woo filmed before enlisting, was released.

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*This content was translated by AI.