Civic group files complaint over leaked Cha Eun-woo tax investigation

Cha Eun-woo / Xportsnews

A South Korean civic group has filed criminal complaints over the alleged leak of tax investigation details involving celebrity Cha Eun-woo, warning that unchecked disclosures risk repeating the kind of reputational damage seen in the case of late actor Lee Sun-kyun.

The Korea Taxpayers Federation said on Tuesday it had reported a tax official accused of leaking confidential information and the journalist who first reported it to police. The federation said the complaint cites violations of the Personal Information Protection Act and criminal law provisions on disclosure of official secrets.

The group said the leak concerned details of a tax investigation into Cha, a member of K-pop boy band ASTRO who is also active as an actor. It said the information could only have been known to tax investigators or officials in the approval chain, raising strong suspicions of an internal leak.

“The accused parties unlawfully disclosed specific details related to Cha Eun-woo’s tax investigation, infringing on confidentiality principles guaranteed by the Framework Act on National Taxes and the rights of taxpayers,” the federation said, adding that the disclosure could cause “irreparable harm” to the individual involved. The group called for a thorough investigation.

The federation stressed that its action was not intended to defend or shield a particular individual. “This is about establishing social trust that tax information is protected in all circumstances,” it said, adding that safeguarding tax data is “a core pillar of the tax system and the community.”

The group also explicitly referenced the late Lee Sun-kyun, saying unverified investigative information should not be made public in ways that permanently damage a person’s reputation and human rights. Lee, a prominent actor, died in December 2023 after months of intense media coverage related to a drug investigation, sparking a broader debate in South Korea over leaks and media practices involving public figures.

Attorney Lee Kyung-hwan, who represents the complainants, said Cha is entitled to the same legal protections as any other citizen. “The presumption of innocence and taxpayer rights apply equally, regardless of whether someone is famous,” he said. “It is not desirable for tax information to be leaked and for social stigma to follow simply because a person is a celebrity.”

Cha Eun-woo / Xportsnews

Cha was placed under an intensive tax audit last year by the Seoul Regional Tax Office’s Investigation Division 4. Following the probe, the National Tax Service concluded that he had evaded income tax by using a one-person agency established by his mother. Authorities have notified him of additional taxes owed totaling about 20 billion won ($15 million), the largest amount ever imposed on an individual entertainer in South Korea.

This article from Xportsnews is adapted by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.