Korean military pulls Cha Eun-woo content after tax evasion allegations

Cha Eun-woo on "The Day's Military Stories," a series from KFN / Captured from KFN YouTube channel

Singer actor Cha Eun-woo, recently embroiled in tax evasion allegations totaling 20 billion won ($14 million), is facing fallout in the public sector, as the military has begun removing videos featuring him from its platforms.

The move by the Ministry of National Defense, which extensively used Cha in public relations campaigns in the past, is seen as an attempt to distance itself from the star amid growing public backlash over the allegations.

On Wednesday, the Defense Media Agency deleted all videos featuring Cha from its official YouTube channel, KFN. He had previously appeared in four videos in a series called "The Day’s Military Story."

After enlisting last July, Cha Eun-woo joined "The Day’s Military Story" as a "storyteller" last month, introducing episodes focused on military-related history.

The latest video highlighted the story of U.S. Army Col. Dean Hess, who helped evacuate more than 1,000 war orphans to Jeju Island during the Korean War.

The playlist for "The Day’s Military Story" on KFN. As of Jan. 28, recent videos featuring Cha Eun-woo have been made private. Captured from KFN YouTube channel

As of wednesday, the videos are inaccessible. The Defense Media Agency did not provide an explanation for the decision.

The development follows allegations that Cha Eun-woo was notified by the National Tax Service of an additional income tax assessment totaling 20 billion won.

Tax authorities suspect that he reduced his tax burden by signing management service contracts through a paper company registered under his mother’s name, allowing the income to be taxed at the corporate rate — roughly 20 percentage points lower than the top individual income tax rate of 45 percent.

As the controversy spread, advertisers such as Shinhan Bank and skin care brand Abib removed videos featuring him from YouTube and other platforms.

Meanwhile, Cha Eun-woo issued a public apology on Monday via Instagram, saying he was “deeply sorry for causing concern and disappointment to so many people,” adding that he sincerely bowed his head in apology.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.