Accounting error or tax evasion? Actress Han Hyo-joo ordered to pay $74,000

South Korean actress Han Hyo-joo, who played the female lead in Korean zombie series Happiness, has been ordered to pay 70 million won (S$74,000) in unpaid taxes.

However, her management agency has refuted reports of tax evasion and attributed the under-reporting of taxes to “accounting errors”.

According to entertainment portal Allkpop, the National Tax Service had conducted an audit on the 36-year-old star of movie Cold Eyes and K-drama Dong Yi.

Her agency, BH Entertainment, released a statement on Tuesday, saying: “Han Hyo-joo underwent a regular tax audit and not a special tax audit. There were no substantial issues, omissions or any aspects raising suspicions of tax evasion.”

It added that “in the process of investigation, a difference in the interpretation of what is subject to taxation resulted in accounting errors”.

This meant Hyo-joo had to pay additional taxes.

It pointed out that Hyo-joo had in fact served as the ambassador for the National Tax Service in 2011 and had received a commendation from the president in 2014 for being an exemplary taxpayer.

In recent months, high-profile South Korean stars such as Lee Byung-hun, Kim Tae-hee and Kwon Sang-woo had been audited by the authorities and had to pay additional taxes.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.