"He even got a military exemption"... Pro gamer facing tax evasion allegations loses appeal at Tax Tribunal

According to The Financial News, Park Jae-hyuk, who won a gold medal as a member of South Korea’s esports national team at the 2022 Asian Games, has come under fire over allegations that he sought to avoid paying taxes.
On the 30th, the National Tax Law Information System revealed that the Tax Tribunal had finally dismissed Park’s appeal against a tax assessment related to labor costs paid to his father and an issue involving shares held under his father’s name.
The National Tax Service (NTS) treated the money Park paid his father as labor costs as "non-business-related expenses," excluded it from deductible expenses, and then imposed comprehensive income tax on Park.
Park’s side argued that his father had acted as his "manager" for three years starting in 2018. However, the tax authorities concluded that there was insufficient evidence to support this claim. The NTS also imposed gift tax in connection with the stock held under his father’s name, finding that Park had failed to prove there was no intent to avoid taxes.
Park challenged these assessments and filed an appeal with the Tax Tribunal, but the tribunal rejected his claim.
Supergent, Park’s agency, stated on its official social networking service (SNS) account, "The funds in question were already fully and faithfully taxed as 100% income tax at the time they were generated and are part of the player’s personal assets," adding, "This tax assessment arose from administrative shortcomings in the process of managing those assets."
It continued, "There was absolutely no real intent to make a gift, but we have already paid in full the gift tax, which is in the nature of a penalty arising from the borrowed-name registration, and all of the assets have been returned to the player’s own name," and added, "We apologize for causing concern to the fans. We will manage our affairs much more thoroughly to prevent any recurrence."

Meanwhile, players on the South Korea national League of Legends team who won gold at the 2022 Asian Games were exempted from mandatory military service under the Art and Sports Personnel System.

y27k@fnnews.com Reporter Seo Yoon-kyung Reporter