Comedian Park Na Rae has become embroiled in controversy following allegations that her one-person agency received preferential treatment during a tax audit, with suspicions of tax evasion amounting to at least 20 billion KRW (approx. 15 million USD).
On January 5, the Seoul Regional Tax Office’s Investigation Bureau 2 conducted an intensive tax audit on Park Na Rae and her agency, Enpark, for about one month starting in November 2022.
During the audit, the National Tax Service reportedly found that Park’s mother was registered as the CEO of Enpark despite not being actively involved in management. Nevertheless, she allegedly received several million won each month, amounting to nearly 80 million KRW (approx. 60,000 USD) annually.
It was also reported that after establishing Enpark in July 2018, Park earned close to 100 billion KRW (approx. 75 million USD) by mid-2021, shortly before the tax audit. Most of this income was allegedly retained within the corporation rather than distributed, a strategy often used for tax minimization.
The tax authorities reportedly suspected that Park used such methods to record fictitious expenses or omit revenue, estimating potential tax evasion in the tens of billions of won. However, despite projections that the amount subject to adjustment could exceed 20 billion KRW (approx. 15 million USD), the investigation reportedly concluded with additional taxes of only around 200 to 300 million KRW (approx. 150,000 to 225,000 USD).
A former senior official of the National Tax Service commented, “Retaining large profits as corporate reserves can be considered a form of tax planning. However, listing individuals who do not actually work for the company or fabricating expenses clearly constitutes tax evasion.”
As of now, Park Na Rae has not released an official statement regarding the allegations.
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