Suspended Sentence for Actor in His 50s Involved in False Tax Invoice Case Worth 19 Billion Won

Court "Consideration of mitigating factors such as passive involvement"

An actor and director who operated a performance planning company and exchanged false tax invoices worth approximately 19 billion KRW was sentenced to probation in the first trial.

The Criminal Division 18 of the Seoul Northern District Court (Chief Judge Lee Tae-woong) announced on the 28th that it sentenced Mr. A, in his 50s, who was indicted on charges including issuing false tax invoices under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, to 2 years in prison with 3 years probation and a fine of 2 billion KRW.

Mr. A was brought to trial on charges of issuing or receiving false tax invoices with a total supply value exceeding 19.07 billion KRW over about seven months from February 2022, after receiving a request for false tax invoices from an employee of the management company of Korean Folk Village.

The performance planning company operated by Mr. A was also fined 200 million KRW for violating the Tax Offense Punishment Act. This company had been responsible for producing performances held on the outdoor stage of Korean Folk Village, and it was revealed that Mr. A committed the crime to maintain business relations with Korean Folk Village and to repay debts.

The court stated, "This is a serious crime that promotes undocumented transactions, damages sound commercial order, and significantly disrupts the tax order by making it difficult for the state to impose and collect taxes," and added, "The total supply value stated in the false tax invoices issued and received by the defendant amounts to about 19 billion KRW, so the scale of the crime is not small." It further noted, "However, the defendant fully admitted to the crime and deeply regrets his wrongdoing, and he was not the main instigator of the crime, which are considered favorable circumstances."

Meanwhile, Mr. A has been known to have steadily appeared in supporting or minor roles in films and dramas since the 2000s and has been actively involved in theater and musicals as well.