Lee Min Ki’s agency has responded after the actor reportedly received a large tax penalty following a recent tax investigation.
On May 20, Sangyoung ENT addressed the issue and denied any intentional wrongdoing. The agency stated, “Since his debut, Lee Min Ki has followed tax laws and faithfully fulfilled his duty to pay taxes.”
It also added that during the recent investigation, Lee Min Ki “transparently submitted related documents” and cooperated sincerely.
Earlier, it was reported that the Seoul Regional Tax Office conducted an intensive tax investigation on Lee Min Ki in March and imposed a large amount of additional taxes. Lee Min Ki has been operating his one person agency, M Momi Co., Ltd., since July 2021.
Sangyoung ENT explained that the issue came from different views on tax law. The agency said, “The result of this tax investigation is an issue that occurred due to a difference in interpretation of tax law between the tax authorities and our side regarding expense processing standards during corporate operations.”
The agency strongly denied intentional tax evasion, stating, “There was no intentional omission of income or illegal tax evasion in any way.” It also confirmed that Lee Min Ki respected the result of the National Tax Service investigation and paid the additional tax “without delay.”
Sangyoung ENT apologized for the concern caused and said, “We will more carefully review our tax and accounting management system so that similar issues do not happen again in the future.”
Meanwhile, Lee Yi Kyung, who is also under Sangyoung ENT, was recently reported to have received a tax penalty notice related to the operation of his own one person agency.
At the time, the agency also explained that it was due to a difference in tax law interpretation regarding expense processing standards.
