Mother’s Company Also Under Scrutiny, Cha Eun Woo Allegedly Involved in Rp229 Billion Tax Evasion

K-pop idol Cha Eun Woo (Doc. Ist)

WartaGate.com – Actor and K-pop idol Cha Eun Woo is currently under intense public scrutiny after being reported as allegedly involved in a massive tax evasion case worth more than Rp229 billion.

The allegations surfaced following an audit conducted by South Korea’s National Tax Service into the artist’s income streams.

Tax law experts believe the alleged tax evasion was carried out through a fairly meticulous and well-structured scheme. One of the entities drawing attention is the entertainment company owned by Cha Eun Woo’s mother, formerly known as Cha’s Gallery.

The company initially operated as a private business and was located in a commercial building in Gimpo. However, in 2024, Cha’s Gallery changed its name to The Annie. Along with the name change, the company’s business structure was converted into a limited liability corporation, and its registered address was moved to Ganghwado, an area known as the location of the Cha family’s eel restaurant.

According to legal experts, the changes in the company’s name, corporate structure, and address were allegedly intended to avoid mandatory external audits by tax authorities. Certain types of companies are required to undergo regular audits, while limited liability corporations face more lenient reporting obligations.

Ganghwado itself falls within a “growth management zone,” which offers various tax incentives, including a high potential for avoiding acquisition taxes. This has further raised questions about The Annie’s presence in the area.

Additional suspicions emerged when it was revealed that the official address of The Annie’s private agency is the same as the Cha family’s eel restaurant. This fact led the National Tax Service to suspect that the company may be fictitious or not actively conducting genuine business operations.

In a report released on Thursday (January 22), the National Tax Service stated that Cha Eun Woo has outstanding tax liabilities exceeding Rp229 billion. Audit findings indicate that the actor’s income was divided among three parties: his main agency Fantagio, his private agency The Annie, and Cha Eun Woo as an individual.

This income-splitting scheme is suspected to have been used to reduce personal income tax obligations, which should have been subject to rates of up to 45 percent.

If these allegations are legally proven, Cha Eun Woo’s case could become one of the largest tax evasion cases in South Korean history.

As of now, neither Cha Eun Woo nor his agency has issued an official statement regarding the audit results. The case remains under investigation and continues to attract widespread public attention, especially given Cha Eun Woo’s long-standing reputation for maintaining a clean and positive image within the entertainment industry.