Summary of ""차은우 민감 정보 어떻게 유출?" 최초 보도기자·공무원 고발 당했다 (자막뉴스) / SBS"

Summary

A civic group, the Korean Taxpayers’ Federation, filed a police complaint alleging that internal tax investigation details about entertainer Cha Eun-woo were leaked by a tax office official and by the reporter who first published the story. The complaint was submitted to the National Investigation Headquarters of the National Police Agency.

Police complaint

Complainant: Korean Taxpayers’ Federation.
Recipient: National Investigation Headquarters, National Police Agency.
Accused: an unidentified tax official and the reporter who first published the tax details.
Alleged violations: breaches of the Personal Information Protection Act and unlawful disclosure of official secrets.

The federation says the detailed tax and investigation information published could only have come from investigators or staff with access to payment-line records, so an internal leak is highly likely. It urged a thorough investigation, stressing that such leaks can cause irreparable harm and undermine public trust in the protection of tax information.

Background on the tax assessment

The National Tax Service (NTS) carried out an intensive audit of Cha Eun-woo in the first half of last year.
The NTS issued a tax levy notice exceeding 20 billion won.
The NTS alleges Cha and his mother created a fictitious company to reduce taxable income by applying a corporate tax rate much lower (by more than 20 percentage points) than the individual income tax rate, resulting in alleged tax avoidance of up to about 45%.
Cha is appealing the tax assessment and has retained a major law firm to represent him.

Parties and contributors

Shin Jeong-eun (SBS reporter)
Korean Taxpayers’ Federation (complainant)
Unidentified tax official (accused)
Unnamed reporter who first reported the tax details (accused)
National Tax Service (investigator)
Cha Eun-woo and his mother (subjects of the tax probe)
Large law firm representing Cha (defense)
National Police Agency — National Investigation Headquarters (receiving the complaint)

Federation’s request and potential impact

The federation is calling for a full and thorough investigation into the source of the leak, warning that unauthorized disclosures of tax investigation details can cause irreparable harm to individuals and erode public confidence in the confidentiality of tax information.