The controversy emerged after it was revealed that the company had not been registered as a popular culture and arts management business for around 3 years and 8 months. When the matter spread, actress Jeon Jong-seo’s agency strongly denied any wrongdoing, stating that “The matter is absolutely not related to tax evasion and all income has been settled in a transparent manner to the individual.”
According to film industry sources, Jeon Jong-seo founded a one-man company named “Summer” on February 10 in June 2022. The company only completed its official registration as a popular culture and arts management company on February 4, nearly four years after its founding.
The company reportedly lists film and drama content planning, development, production and management as part of its business scope. Jeon Jong-seo is the CEO, while Lee Chung-hyun, who has been publicly dating the actress since 2021 after working together on The callhe is registered as an internal director.
Under South Korea’s Popular Culture and Arts Industry Development Law, any entity operating an entertainment management business must register with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism or relevant local authorities. This regulation has led some to raise concerns about delayed registration.
In response, Jeon Jong-seo’s agency Andmarq explained this “Summer was not created for the purpose of managing artists, but rather for the planning, development and production of content.” The agency clarified that although management-related elements were largely included at the time of incorporation, there were no concrete plans to operate a management business, leading them to believe that a separate registration was not necessary. They added that after the issue was raised, the company reviewed the matter and corrected the procedure accordingly.
Addressing suspicions related to recent tax evasion cases involving individual agencies in the entertainment industry, Andmarq pointed out that Jeon Jong-seo’s situation is completely different. The agency emphasized that since signing the exclusive contract with Andmark, all of the actress’s income has been regulated and paid correctly and transparently.
Jeon Jong-seo debuted in 2018 with Burningquickly gaining recognition for his performance. He later starred in The call, Nothing seriousand Hollywood film Dancer. Most recently, he met the public again through the release of Project Y.
Sources: Nate News
