By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
People may wonder how much popular entertainers get paid for nightly appearances at clubs. But now an investigation into brokers who organized deals between entertainers and nightclub managers has given a clue showing that one entertainer received more than 40 million won ($40,000) for a one-time appearance. Many of them are also suspected of evading taxes.
Seoul Central Prosecutors' Office said Monday that it secured information about the age-old ``secret,'' while investigating six brokers who allegedly helped entertainers appear at nightclubs without authorization. The six were indicted without physical detention on charges of running an illegal brokerage business.
Shin Jung-hwan, 33, a popular singer and entertainer, received as much as 40.5 million won ($40,500) for a one night appearance at a nightclub in Incheon, Gyeonggi Province.
Kim Gun-mo, 40, who holds the record for the best selling K-pop album, received 35 million won from a club in Incheon. Another top singer, Lee Seung-cheol, 42, was paid 30 million won. B-list singers and entertainers also received about 10 million won.
Most of the entertainers gave approximately half of the fees to unlicensed brokers, according to the data.
``Singers stay for about 20, 25 minutes, sing three or four songs and chat with guests,'' a nightclub manager told The Korea Times. ``Those engaging in other fields such as actors, serve as DJs. They are paid less than a singer.''
The prosecution plans to investigate the entertainers in question on suspicion of evading taxes. ``The National Tax Service plans to trace entertainers' income to check whether they paid taxes properly,'' a prosecutor said.
But the nightclub manager said it is easy for entertainers to evade taxes since they are usually paid in cash.