Cha Eun Woo, who fled to fulfill his military service amid tax evasion allegations, speaks out in shocking terms!

Cha Eun Woo is currently at the center of controversy after being accused of owing tens of billions of won in taxes while serving in the military. The ASTRO member has officially apologized and hastily returned to his unit, causing a stir in public opinion.

The shock of a 20 billion won tax debt and suspicions of a "ghost company" at an eel restaurant.

The controversy erupted when the National Tax Service (NTS) of South Korea announced a massive additional tax recovery exceeding 20 billion won (approximately 362 billion VND) from Cha Eun Woo. This is the largest tax recovery in history for a single artist in South Korea. According to initial findings, authorities suspect that "Company A," established by the artist's mother, is actually a "shell company." Despite registering a service contract with Fantagio, this entity had no actual business operations.

Notably, the registered address of this company matched that of an eel restaurant in Ganghwa-do, raising suspicions that Cha Eun Woo and his family intentionally diverted personal income (subject to a 45% tax rate) to corporate tax (just over 20%) for personal gain. Furthermore, invoices totaling 8.2 billion won issued by this company were deemed forged. The involvement of a star with such a clean image as Cha Eun Woo in a large-scale financial scandal has shocked South Korean society, creating a wave of widespread disappointment among fans.

Speaking from the military: Remorse or an attempt to salvage reputation?

On the evening of January 26th, after taking a short leave to deal with personal matters, Cha Eun Woo directly posted a statement on his personal Instagram account. In his letter, he sincerely apologized for causing concern and affirmed that he would fully comply with the final rulings of the tax authorities. The actor admitted that the incident had made him seriously reflect on his responsibilities as a citizen: "I am extremely sorry for hurting those who trusted me. I will take full responsibility after the preliminary review results are available."

Notably, Cha Eun Woo frankly denied the accusation of "enlisting to evade prosecution." He asserted that his enlistment in July 2025 was due to an unavoidable deadline and was completely unrelated to the timing of the investigation. However, the actor also admitted that the timing of his military service coinciding with the tax review period caused unfortunate misunderstandings, and he is willing to take responsibility for this sensitive coincidence. This is the first time an active-duty artist has spoken out so strongly and directly about a civil scandal, highlighting the seriousness of the situation Cha Eun Woo is facing.

What future awaits the "face genius" after the storm?

Despite his apology, Cha Eun Woo's position remains severely shaken by the serious tax evasion scandal. Suspicions of forged documents from his management company are becoming a major legal obstacle, causing significant damage to the artist's global brand value. Currently, he has returned to the military band to continue his service under close public scrutiny. All eyes are now on the final ruling from the National Tax Service (NTS), which will determine the career and the perfect image this heartthrob has maintained for so long.

Cha Eun Woo faces the risk of 5 years in prison; Dispatch releases irrefutable evidence. Trần Mạn20:12:56 24/01/2026According to Sports Seoul, the case of actor Cha Eun Woo being accused of tax evasion amounting to approximately 20 billion won could be subject to the Special Penalties Act, putting him at risk of imprisonment for at least 5 years.