For those who are superstitious then this is not a good week to be an Asian celebrity. Following on the heels of A-list Taiwanese movie star and current It boy Kai Ko‘s arrest for smoking pot in draconian drug law China, next comes the news that A-list Korean actress Song Hye Kyo has been caught and reprimanded by the Korean national tax authority. For the first day or so the news merely reported that “top star Miss Song” was the celebrity on the wrong side of paying taxes, which led to anyone with a similar last name like Son Ye Jin and Song Ji Hyo to actually have to make a public statement about not being the tax evader in question. While Kai Ko’s pot smoking can be seen as breaking the drug laws of China and a moral failing, Song Hye Kyo’s tax evasion is similarly breaking a law in Korea and considered by netizens to be both a moral and civic transgression. She’s currently getting raked through the coals by understandably angry K-netizens who feel like the everyman and woman who dutifully pay their taxes despite making significantly less than Song Hye Kyo end up getting shafted when those who make more find ways to dodge paying the fair share of taxes.
To be fair there have been plenty of Korean celebrities investigated and/or caught for tax evasion so it’s not just Song Hye Kyo who did it. The underpaid tax amount were for the tax paying years of 2009-2012 where her accountants wrote off more than 5.5 billion won ($5.4 million) as tax deductible expenses without having valid evidence for 92% or so percent of that write-off amount. Song Hye Kyo’s agency has publicly released a statement apologizing for the failure and explaining that she’s since parted ways with the aggressive accountants in question who handled her income tax returns during that period. She has since paid the full amount for the deductions that didn’t have documentation which comes out to 2.56 billion won for those three years. I suggest Song Hye Kyo call up top stars Ha Ji Won and Gong Yoo to ask for the name of their accountants. This news is coming at a terribly PR-inconvenient time for Song Hye Kyo who is just ramping up full promotions for her tearjerker movie My Brilliant Life with Kang Dong Won.
Other stars who have been slapped on the wrist for tax evasion are Kang Ho Dong and Kim Ah Joong. This year alone there are reports that Rain and Jang Geun Seok under-reported their overseas income and is being investigated. Tax evasion is one of those victimless crimes unless you consider the Big Government a victim, and it’s also a crime that can be rectified once the tax evaders pay up (and the government can even add interest). With that said, this is notoriously judgmental Korea we’re talking about, the very netizens that get pissed when Jeon Ji Hyun and Kim Soo Hyun do a Chinese CF shown solely in China containing water sourced at a mountain range split between North Korea and China where either side calls it their own name.
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C'mon be fair. Probably not worth demonizing the CF or its stars but to non-Manchu Chinese, Changbaishan is just a really pretty mountain while to the Koreans, it's Paekdusan, a sacred "birth place".So not as simple and silly as you think, certainly not just about Chinese vs. Korean name of a mountain.
I can't help but laugh at the delusional people who really believe it's all the fault of her accountants. Are they seriously believing accountants who evade money under their clients' names without telling them? And, on top of that, Song Hye Kyo didn't realize she had more money than before after paying her taxes? And all that for 3 years? If it was really the fault of her accountants then she would not have only paid those taxes back but her accountants would have been caught by justice.
I really liked Song Hye Kyo so it's a disappointment to see she hid her real face under an angel image.
She also switched accountants 3 times during the years when she was underpaying taxes so clearly she knew what was happening and it was not just one accountant's fault. I'm disappointed as well bc I've liked her ever since full house and was hoping to see her in another drama soon.
Song Hye Kyo's such a creepy woman. Doing charities with a smile to have a good image while evading taxes behind people's back. Ugh. Every time I see her, I can't help but think she's sly.
You are more creepy.please watch your words.you don't know the real thing.you are no god to judge people.
did u cut and paste ur comments?? coz i saw this exact comment on another blog and was said that those were comments from netizens...i guess we are all netizens? lol
Dont judge a book by its cover sis/bro! Everyone of us has a unique flaws. The most creepiest people are those who judge or look down people unknowingly! I really hate those very opinionated people!I love her and i will always be in spite of her flaws as what she did to me! *_-..@!
No wonder Binnie dumper her and I guess now Kang Dong Won will avoid her or else his image will be tainted as well.
Smell jelousy here.you don't know what the real thing but just because you envy and there is a chance to bashed her then you say some nasty things.
She's getting so much hate...I still love her regardless of this dilemma she'll pull through
What's happening with some of the views this weekend? There are some pretty intolerant people around. For all those righteous and perfectly upright people, I do know I don't throw around rigid views on anyone. No one is perfect. Her crime is what it is but it doesn't make me or discolour my opinion of her whole life and lifestyle to the extent of some people.
Very well said and also absolutely agree
Wow a sane person? I didn't think people like you still existed in the internets. Glad to see that sane commentators aren't extinct yet.
AMEN!
Like you said. It is what it is. I feel the same about the drug situation. Its just taken out of proportion. I still think that evading taxes is wrong but that doesn't demonize them. And all it takes is her paying it back + any interest added and voila.
What's crazy is that this was paid for and closed back in 2012...all these old items being revealed lately is pretty suspicious
suspicious indeed...
What she did was wrong. But she's making up for it now. I hope it doesn't hurt her career.
I love her recent photoshoot with KDW. Gorgeous!
Speaking of photoshoots, I saw Yoona's recent magazine photoshoot W Korea September issue, and the girl looks freaking amazing. Nam Dajung :o Koala you should check it out!
Tax evasion is hardly a "victimless crime". The victims here are other Koreans, in need of health care, education, etc. Frankly, if anything regular folks should be even more incensed when rich people like Song try to screw over the very society that made them wealthy in the first place.
Yes, I also find it strange that anyone would think it a "victimless crime". Tax is completely necessary for public goods and I would be mad if I were Korean and found out that those mega-rich celebrities were evading tax.
I'm not gonna judge her but I understand knetizens hate for her . She's rich but doesn't pay her taxes, I'm average but I do what it takes to pay.. Let's be honest with ourselves here.
Anyways, she'll be fine in no time.
Hope she'll surpass this incident and won't negatively affect her new film, thinking that she settled this 2 yrs ago and she's still reflecting it though.. I guess it's intentional that somebody's trying to drag her down. Big question is WHY now?? Why it was not reported 2yrs ago??