"Closure Underway" Kim Sunho Also Under Scrutiny... Similarities Detected with 'Cha Eunwoo Method'

Appointing Parents to the Board and Transferring Salaries Back
Corporate Address Matches Residence
Suspicions Raised Over Existence of a Shell Company

Actor Kim Sunho was reported by The Sports Kyunghyang on the 1st to have operated a separate corporation with his family members as executives, distributing his income. Public attention is focused on the repeated use of such structures, especially since another leading actor under the same agency, Fantagio, Cha Eunwoo, was recently notified of a large tax assessment.

Actor Kim Sunho was reported by The Sports Kyunghyang on the 1st to have operated a separate corporation with family members as executives, distributing income. Fantagio

According to the report, in January of last year, Kim Sunho established a performance planning company registered at his residence in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, and listed himself as CEO. In addition to performance planning, the corporation registered a wide range of business purposes, including advertising and content production, broadcasting production and distribution, and real estate sales and leasing. However, popular arts and culture planning was not included among its business purposes.

The company's board of directors consists solely of Kim Sunho's parents. The absence of external management is interpreted as a structure designed to more flexibly move corporate funds within the family. In fact, it was found that after paying his parents salaries ranging from several million to tens of millions of won, these amounts were then transferred back to Kim Sunho. There were also cases where living and entertainment expenses were paid with the corporate card, and a vehicle was registered and used under the corporation's name.

The fact that the corporate address is the same as Kim Sunho's residence adds weight to suspicions that the company is a "paper company" with no real business activity. Tax experts believe that by paying salaries through a corporation with family members as executives, one can avoid gift taxes and distribute income, while also reducing taxes by processing expenses as corporate costs.

The timing of Kim Sunho's establishment of the corporation is also notable. The corporation was set up while contract renewal discussions were underway with his former agency and about a year before his transfer to Fantagio. Kim Sunho is reported to have received a signing bonus of around 2 billion won after signing an exclusive contract with Fantagio. Experts suggest that this may have been a preemptive move to receive a large signing bonus through a corporation rather than as an individual.

This method is structurally similar to the recent case involving Cha Eunwoo. Cha Eunwoo was notified by the National Tax Service of an additional tax assessment of about 20 billion won for allegedly distributing his income through a corporation under his mother's name, and his agency Fantagio was also assessed additional taxes in the billions of won. Cha Eunwoo's side has stated, "The additional tax is not yet finalized, and we are taking legal action."

Experts point out that if the allegations against Kim Sunho are confirmed, it could be seen as a repeated settlement structure at the agency level rather than an individual deviation. If Fantagio knowingly paid signing and settlement fees to the corporation, this could lead to criminal tax charges and raise issues of breach of duty.

Fantagio has acknowledged the existence of Kim Sunho's corporation but claims, "There has been no substantial operation for over a year, and we are currently in the process of closing the company after recognizing potential issues." The agency further explained, "The corporation was not created for tax avoidance purposes, but with future plans for theatrical activities in mind."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.