K-actor Kim Seon-ho apologises over one-person corporation amid tax avoidance allegations

SEOUL – South Korean actor Kim Seon-ho, star of several K-drama romcom hits, has issued an apology after coming under fire for previously running a one-person corporation. Critics allege it was used as a shell company to avoid higher taxes.

On Feb 4, his agency Fantagio released a statement addressing the growing controversy surrounding the entity.

According to Fantagio, Kim, 39, established the corporation in question in January 2024 to support his acting and theatre productions.

From then until before his exclusive contract with Fantagio began in February 2025, payments for his activities were processed through the corporation.

“After recognising that operating the corporation itself could lead to misunderstandings, Kim stopped running it. For longer than the past year, no activities have been carried out through the corporation in any practical sense,” the agency said.

“Since the exclusive contract between Fantagio and Kim was signed in February 2025 up to the present, settlement payments have been made directly to Kim as an individual. We would like to make it clear that the corporation has had no relation whatsoever to the contract process or activities between Fantagio and Kim,” Fantagio added.

The agency said Kim has taken steps to address issues related to how the corporation was operated, including returning records of corporate card use, family salary payments and a company vehicle.

He has additionally paid personal income tax on top of the corporate tax already paid on amounts previously settled through the corporation. The company is now in the process of being shut down, with administrative procedures expected to wrap up soon.

Kim issued an apology through the statement, saying he “deeply regrets having established and maintained the corporation for over a year without sufficient understanding of how corporate operations work”.

The statement comes amid rising accusations that the actor had established a separate corporation outside his agency arrangement to avoid taxes.

Observers noted that his home was listed as the company’s registered address. His parents were named as internal director and auditor respectively, raising suspicions that the structure may have been used to sidestep gift taxes and reduce taxes through mechanisms such as salaries and corporate card spending.

The issue gained wider attention following recent reports concerning Cha Eun-woo, another top Hallyu star, who was hit with a tax notice from the National Tax Service for more than 20 billion won (S$17.5 million), the largest amount ever sought from an individual celebrity in South Korea.

The case fuelled public scrutiny over Cha’s alleged use of shell companies to route entertainment income through a corporate tax rate, which is lower than the top personal income tax rate of 45 per cent.

Since the allegations regarding Kim broken out, the fallout has been swift. Advertisers have moved quickly to distance themselves, with the fashion brand Beanpole on Feb 3 removing a teaser video for its 2026 Spring Collection from its official account. The clip, last posted in January, featured Kim.

The actor is starring in Netflix romcom series Can This Love Be Translated? (2026). He also anchored the Disney+ action-thriller The Tyrant (2024) and joined the ensemble of Netflix’s internationally successful When Life Gives You Tangerines (2025).

The tax situation has cast uncertainty over Kim’s upcoming projects. The tentpole Disney+ series Portraits Of Delusion, which also stars South Korean singer-actress Bae Suzy, now faces uncertainty over its rollout.

A Disney+ representative told The Korea Herald: “Nothing has been decided yet about the release of the series, including the specific release date.” THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK