Actress Honey Lee is firmly denying allegations of tax evasion after reports surfaced that she was hit with a massive KRW 6 billion ($4.5 million) tax bill following an irregular audit.
On March 7, her agency TEAMHOPE released a statement clarifying the situation, saying, “The tax audit conducted last year covered a 5-year period. No evidence of tax evasion, such as undeclared income or false expense reporting, was found.”
The controversy began when it was revealed that Honey Lee and her company, Hope Project, were audited by the Seoul Regional Tax Office in September 2023.
Hope Project, which she founded in 2015 and where her husband serves as CEO, was reportedly ordered to pay additional taxes due to discrepancies in classification.
Honey Lee explained that Hope Project was established to handle activities beyond her work as an actress, including traditional Korean music performances, content creation, and investments.
However, tax authorities interpreted her entertainment income as personal rather than corporate, resulting in what TEAMHOPE calls “double taxation.”
Her agency further emphasized, “This is not a case of tax evasion. The imposed tax includes amounts already declared and paid as corporate taxes, but authorities imposed additional personal income tax on top of that.”
Despite paying the full amount, Honey Lee plans to fight the decision legally. TEAMHOPE stated, “We will work with a tax law firm to clarify this issue through legal procedures.”
Fans are standing by Honey Lee, praising her for addressing the controversy head-on.
Many are eager to see how the case unfolds and whether the actress will be able to overturn what she claims is an unfair tax ruling.
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