Cha Eun-woo, 2 Billion Dollar Tax Imposition 'Shock'…Estimated Income of 100 Million Dollars?

Singer and actor Cha Eun-woo has been confirmed to have received a notice of 2 billion dollar tax imposition from the National Tax Service. This is the largest case of tax imposition on a celebrity in history, and criticism is growing regarding the astronomical earnings of stars and the distorted structure of the popular culture industry.

National Tax Service, Targeting 'Paper Company'
Recently, the Seoul Regional Tax Office judged that the A corporation established by Cha Eun-woo's mother is a so-called 'paper company' with no substance and imposed a large tax penalty. The National Tax Service believes that to avoid personal income tax (maximum rate of 45%) due to high income, a relatively lower corporate tax rate (maximum rate of 24%) was intentionally intervened between the agency and the artist. Cha Eun-woo's side has filed for a pre-tax review in objection.

Estimated Income of 100 Million Dollars? Public's 'Relative Deprivation'
The most shocking aspect to the public is the actual income scale of Cha Eun-woo derived from the tax imposition amount. Industry experts analyzed that to be imposed a tax of 2 billion dollars, the cumulative income must be at least between 50 million and 100 million dollars. This is an amount that a worker earning 300,000 won per month would need to save for about 555 years without spending a penny. As this fact became known, feelings of disillusionment and deprivation among the public are rapidly spreading, especially in online communities.

The Other Side of the 'Face Genius', Cold Eyes
Cha Eun-woo has been active as a blue-chip in the advertising industry with the title of 'face genius', but evaluations of his acting and singing skills have been constantly mixed. Despite the controversy over his skills, he has accumulated unimaginable wealth solely based on his image and star quality, and as suspicions of improper gifting have arisen, public sentiment has rapidly turned cold.

Backlash Against 'Wealth Display' in the Entertainment Industry
This controversy seems to be spreading into a broader issue regarding the revenue structure of the entertainment industry. There are concerns that the skyrocketing value of leading stars is driving up production costs, threatening the content ecosystem. Along with this, resentment against the display of wealth by stars is also growing. Actress Go So-young deleted a video after boasting about a building worth hundreds of billions of won, and Son Yeon-jae was criticized for exposing expensive luxury baby products.

Stars who have grown based on public love are accumulating enormous wealth within a distorted revenue distribution structure, and as behaviors of flaunting or trying to protect it through improper means are repeated, calls for self-purification and improvement of the popular culture industry as a whole are increasing.