Credit: SM EntertainmentSM Entertainment stated that they were fined 20.216 billion KRW (about $18,086,333) following a tax investigation by the Seoul Regional Tax Office.
On February 5, SME announced that they were ordered to pay an additional collection amount of 20.216 billion KRW, which they described as 3.19 percent of SME’s owned capital.
Through their public announcement, SME stated that they plan to pay the additional fine before the deadline of the end of March but also plan to carry out an appeal process after that.
The Seoul Regional Tax Office recently conducted a tax investigation on SM Entertainment and SM Entertainment’s executive producer Lee Soo Man. As of September 30, Lee is the largest shareholder with an 18.73 percent stake in SME.
Thie recent investigation has been described as an irregular tax investigation, known as a “special tax investigation.” Tax authorities are said to have suspected outflow of company capital in Lee Soo Man’s corporate transactions. At the time, SME shared, “We received a regular tax investigation for the first time in six years since September last year. We have faithfully engaged in the investigation.”
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