South Korean media on June 2nd simultaneously reported that famous actor Ji Chang Wook has just become the subject of a special non-periodic tax investigation by the Korean National Revenue Service.
Functional agencies have discovered many violations in the declaration of revenue as well as expenses, and at the same time issued decisions to recover tax money up to billions of won.
According to exclusive sources from Field News, Investigation Bureau 2 of the Seoul Regional Tax Department conducted a surprise inspection of Ji Chang Wook.
This special tax inspection campaign was carried out strictly for more than 10 days, taking place from March this year.
In South Korea, special or non-periodic tax investigations from Investigation Bureau 2 are only carried out when management agencies detect signs of tax evasion, lack of financial transparency or record unusual fluctuations in the cash flow of individuals and organizations.
In this inspection, the tax authority comprehensively reviewed the time of recording revenue from all of Ji Chang Wook's arts and entertainment activities both domestically and internationally.
In addition, the legality of the film remuneration finalization process, along with the system of documents and books proving reasonable costs through management companies and related legal entities, are also strictly compared.
After the verification process, the tax authorities concluded that actor Ji Chang Wook's side had unreasonable cost declarations for the purpose of reducing the amount of tax payable.
Therefore, the authorities issued a decision to retroactively collect taxes from Ji Chang Wook with a scale of up to billions of won. Due to personal information security regulations, the specific penalty figure has not been disclosed in detail by the tax authorities.
Answering press interviews immediately after the incident spread, a representative of Spring Company - Ji Chang Wook's management company gave a brief response: "We are currently conducting a re-verification of the entire incident".
The cautious and somewhat slow attitude from the management unit is causing public and fans to worry.
Ji Chang Wook's case takes place in the context that the Korean tax authorities are tightening financial management for A-list stars in the entertainment industry.
Previously, actor Lee Min Ki was also retroactively charged a large amount of tax after a similar inspection process.
At that time, Lee Min Ki's representative quickly spoke up to explain that the incident only stemmed from differences in the interpretation and application of legal regulations on cost standards when operating the legal entity, and there was absolutely no intentional omission of income or tax evasion. Lee Min Ki's side then also fully fulfilled its financial obligations in accordance with regulations.
Currently, fans are waiting for the next official announcement from Ji Chang Wook to clarify this tax arrears case.
