We have three major updates regarding legal actions, investigative reports and NTS system failures that highlight the unfairness of the situation and the need for continuing to pursue this Global Call to Action.
1. Criminal Charges Filed Against Illegal Leaks
Today, the Korea Taxpayers Federation (KTF) filed a formal complaint with the National Police Agency against the tax official(s) responsible for leaking Cha Eun-woo's private tax information and the journalist who first published it. To ensure a fair process, the KTF is demanding the enforcement of the following laws:
Framework Act on National Taxes – Article 81-13 (Confidentiality): This law strictly prohibits tax officials from providing, leaking, or using a taxpayer's information for any purpose other than those specified by law. It is the cornerstone of a taxpayer's right to privacy, ensuring that financial investigations remain confidential.
Personal Information Protection Act – Article 71: This statute dictates that any person who leaks personal information acquired during the course of their professional duties, or any person who receives and uses such information for profit or improper purposes, faces severe penalties. This includes up to 5 years in prison.
Criminal Act – Article 127 (Divulgence of Official Secrets): This law holds public officials criminally liable if they leak secrets obtained in the performance of their duties. The KTF argues that the specific tax amounts and internal investigation details could only have been leaked by an internal official within the National Tax Service (NTS).
Why This Matters for Our Petition:
The KTF emphasized that these laws exist to prevent "character assassination" and the violation of the Presumption of Innocence (a constitutional right). They noted that when unverified investigation details are leaked to the press—as seen in previous tragic cases like the late actor Lee Sun-kyun—it causes irreparable damage to an individual’s reputation before they have even had the chance to defend themselves in court.
2. Investigative Report: A "Regulatory Failure" Shifted onto Individuals
Veteran journalist Park Cheol-seong has released a scathing report exposing how the current scandal is actually the result of over a decade of government negligence.
Key findings from the report include:
A Decade of Silence: For more than 10 years, the NTS knowingly allowed "one-person agencies" and specific tax structures to be used by high earners. They never issued clear guidelines or ruled them illegal, effectively allowing the system to flourish unchecked.
Shifting the Blame: Now that the income of top stars has grown, the NTS has abruptly reversed course. Instead of taking responsibility for their failure to regulate the system early on, they are shifting the burden onto private citizens.
The Real Scandal: Park Cheol-seong argues the scandal isn't "celebrity greed," but a "lazy, evasive bureaucracy" that is using celebrities like Cha Eun-woo as shields. By singling out a high-profile, successful figure, the NTS is attempting to cover up its own 10-year failure to provide clear rules.
Visible Targets: Cha Eun-woo followed a structure the government permitted for years. He is now being targeted in the "court of public opinion" simply because he is visible and successful, while the state hides its own incompetence.
What This Means for Our Petition:
The narrative that this is a case of "tax evasion" is collapsing. It is becoming clear that: The information was leaked illegally the system was government-sanctioned. The NTS is retroactively punishing individuals for a structure they themselves allowed to exist for over a decade.
3. The Collapse of a 24-Year Tradition: NTS Abandons Celebrity Ambassadors
It is a telling irony that as of 2026, the National Tax Service has officially halted its practice of appointing "Celebrity Public Relations Ambassadors," a system that had been a staple of South Korean tax administration for 24 years. Since 2001, the NTS annually selected top stars to serve as the "face" of tax compliance, granting them audit deferrals in exchange for their public image. However, the agency has now abandoned this program following internal debates over "power abuse" (using celebrities without being paid) and the recurring pattern of "character assassination" when the NTS later targets those same figures for audits. This sudden termination of a two-decade-old system serves as a silent admission: the NTS can no longer reconcile its reliance on celebrity influence with its aggressive, retroactive targeting of the entertainment industry. For figures like Cha Eun-woo, it proves that the NTS is moving toward a model of punitive enforcement to mask its own historical regulatory failures.
Our Demand:
As supporters, we reiterate that being a celebrity does not waive one’s right to legal protection. If the very agency responsible for our most sensitive financial data (the NTS) cannot prevent internal leaks, it undermines the integrity of the entire tax system. We continue to call for a fair process. Cha Eun-woo should not be the "sacrificial person" for the NTS's historical regulatory failures. We demand that the NTS stop the "trial by media" and address their own internal failures instead of unfairly targeting an individual who has consistently shown his commitment to his duties as a citizen.
Cha Eun-woo is currently following all legal procedures to appeal the tax assessment. We continue to stand by him and demand that the law be applied equally and fairly, without the prejudice of illegal media leaks.
Thank you for continuing to stand for justice and a fair process for CHA EUN WOO and similar cellebrities/public figures.
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