Tax Evasion Abroad: Jang Geun-seok's Mother Receives Suspended Prison Sentence in First Trial

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The mother of actor Jang Geun-seok, who was prosecuted for tax evasion by failing to report income worth tens of billions of won while running an entertainment agency, was sentenced to a suspended prison term.

On the 19th, the Criminal Division 25-3 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judges Kwon Seong-su, Kim Seon-hee, and Im Jeong-yeop) sentenced Jeon Mo, who was indicted without detention on charges of tax evasion under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, to 2 years and 6 months in prison with a 4-year suspension and a fine of 3 billion won.

Jeon was accused of evading taxes by failing to report income worth tens of billions of won earned by her son, Jang, who was an entertainer under Trijay Company from 2012 to 2015, by withdrawing the income through a Hong Kong account. During the prosecution investigation, it was confirmed that Jeon transferred part of the earnings to a Hong Kong account under her name, did not record it in the accounting books, and underreported personal and corporate income taxes to evade taxes.

On this day, the court pointed out, "The defendant did not take any reporting measures even after the tax investigation and evaded taxes exceeding 1.8 billion won. Considering the method and result of the crime, the blameworthiness is significant." However, the court also stated, "The defendant has currently paid all the evaded taxes and has no prior record of punishment for similar crimes, which is considered a favorable circumstance."

Meanwhile, Trijay Company was also suspected of overseas income tax evasion in 2014. It is known that in January 2015, the company paid tens of billions of won in additional taxes and penalties to the National Tax Service.