What’s Going On with Honey Lee?
Okay, so some pretty serious news just dropped about one of Korea’s favorite actresses, Honey Lee. If you’ve seen the hit movie “Extreme Job” or the drama “One the Woman,” you definitely know who she is. According to multiple reports, she and her husband have been formally forwarded to the prosecutor’s office by the police.
The issue revolves around their company, Hope Project. Apparently, they’ve been operating it as an entertainment agency since 2015 without officially registering it as a “public culture and arts planning business,” which is a legal requirement here in Korea. This law is in place to make sure agencies operate transparently. For not registering, the penalty can be up to two years in prison or a fine of up to 20 million won (about $15,000).
Wait, What About the $4.5 Million?
So, this is where it gets a little more complicated. This registration issue is separate from, but connected to, another big headline about her from last year. The “6 billion won” (roughly $4.5 million USD) mentioned in the Korean headlines refers to a massive tax bill she had to pay. The National Tax Service investigated her and concluded that income she had reported as corporate revenue for her company should have been filed as personal income, which is taxed at a much higher rate.
Her side has consistently argued that this wasn’t intentional tax evasion, but a difference in how the tax laws were interpreted between her accountants and the tax authorities. They emphasized that they paid the amount in full and that it wasn’t a case of fraud.
Her Agency’s Response
Her agency, Team Hope, quickly released a statement about the agency registration issue. They basically said they weren’t fully aware of the registration obligation and didn’t complete the process because of that oversight. However, once they realized their mistake, they said they immediately took steps to register and officially received their registration certificate this past October. They’ve made it clear they plan to cooperate fully with the investigation moving forward.
What Happens Next?
Being “forwarded to the prosecution” doesn’t automatically mean someone is guilty. It just means the police have finished their part of the investigation and have handed the case over to the prosecutors to decide whether to formally press charges. It’s a big deal for any public figure in Korea, though. We’ll have to wait and see how the prosecutors handle the case. For now, it’s a stressful Christmas for the beloved star.
