His agency offered clarification.
Actor Lee jon giagency, Namoo actorsHe issued an official declaration regarding the actor’s tax investigations.
On March 19, KST, Namoo Actors said that Lee Joon GI suffered a regular tax audit from the Gangnam tax office in 2023 and paid the reassignment amount of ₩ 900 million KRW (approximately $ 617,000 USD). They clarified that the additional tax assessment derived from different interpretations and questions of tax laws by the tax agents of Lee and the authorities.
Lee was investigated for the first time by the National Tax Service in 2023. The investigations focused on Jg EntertainmentAn individual agency founded by Lee in 2014 with his father. Although Lee has an exclusive contract with Namoo Actors, his earnings from his projects have been elaborated through JG Entertainment and, therefore, were classified as corporate earnings. This allowed Lee to pay a 24% company tax on its earnings instead of the personal income tax of 45%. The authorities suspected that this system had been deliberately set to reduce Lee’s tax liabilities and therefore a probe was started in its financial transactions.
In addition, JG Entertainment acquired a high -end penthouse in Cheonga, incheon in 2021 for ₩ 2.95 billion KRW (about 2.02 million USD dollars). It was hypothesized that the property was used by Lee Joon GI as a personal residence, fueling further control. His representatives have vehemently denied this accusation and Lee was claimed by the tax authorities after examining the matter and did not find legal violations.
As for the Lee income dispute that was channeled through JG Entertainment, Namoo Actors said that the authorities had never raised the problems during previous tax investigations. There is also no precedence in terms of judgment of the tax authorities or courts regarding the revenue management system and activities through a private company. So, despite having paid the entire evaluation amount, Lee Joon Gi presented a request for an exam to listen to the decision of the tax court again. The exam is currently underway.
In the meantime, another popular Korean actor, Yoo Yeon Seok It was also recently affected by an unprecedented tax sanction. You can read more about it here:
The actor Yoo Yeon Seok hit with 7 billion KRW penalties for alleged tax evasion
