Actor Yoo Yeon Seok's tax dispute continues to have new developments when the Korean Tax Complaints Board rejected the actor's complaint against the decision to recover 3 billion won (about 570 billion VND). However, the management company affirmed that this is not the final result and legal procedures are still ongoing.
On August 5, King Kong by Starship said that the incident stemmed from differences in the interpretation and application of tax laws, not because Yoo Yeon Seok intentionally evaded financial obligations.
A company representative said that the entire process of handling the case is still not completed. This unit is continuing to review the details and legal basis, and will implement the necessary procedures in accordance with the law.
The company also emphasized that Yoo Yeon Seok always fully fulfilled his tax obligations throughout his artistic activities and will continue to cooperate with functional agencies to resolve the case.
According to the latest results, the Tax Complaint Council upheld the decision to retroactively collect taxes from the "Hospital Playlist" star. Previously, the actor had fully paid the tax according to the decision of the authorities but still exercised the right to complain according to regulations.
The incident originated from a tax inspection of Forever Entertainment, a one-member company established by Yoo Yeon Seok to manage artistic activities. After the inspection process, the Korean National Revenue Service stated that this business did not actually manage artists. Therefore, some incomes are determined to be subject to personal income tax instead of business income.
Initially, the tax authorities announced a tax arrears of about 7 billion won. After Yoo Yeon Seok requested a review of the decision before officially issuing it, some items were adjusted due to tax obligation determination, causing the tax arrears to decrease to 3 billion won.
After completing the tax payment obligation, Yoo Yeon Seok continued to send a complaint requesting the cancellation of the tax collection decision. However, this request was not accepted by the Tax Complaint Council.
According to Korean regulations, the rejection of the complaint does not mean that the case has ended. Taxpayers still have the right to file an administrative lawsuit if they believe that the tax authority's decision is not in accordance with legal regulations. Therefore, the possibility of Yoo Yeon Seok continuing to bring the case to court is still open.
In recent years, the Korean tax authorities have strengthened inspections of companies established by artists to manage performance and business activities. The focus of the inspections is to determine the boundary between personal income and business income to ensure proper tax declaration and payment.
Before Yoo Yeon Seok, some artists such as Cha Eun Woo, Lee Ha Nee and Lee Yi Kyung were also retroactively taxed after inspections. However, each case has different causes and legal bases, which does not mean that the artist has tax evasion behavior.
Currently, Yoo Yeon Seok has not made a personal statement after the complaint was rejected. Meanwhile, a statement from the management company shows that the actor is still considering further legal options, and the obligation to dispute with the tax authorities is likely to continue.
