After wrapping up its case against Cha Eun Woo, the tax authorities have now turned to Ji Chang Wook.

According to reports in the South Korean press on June 2, 2026, the National Tax Service launched an investigation into Ji Chang Wook's tax liabilities around March 2026. The audit lasted approximately 10 days.

Tax officials examined the timing of income recognition from Ji Chang Wook's domestic and overseas entertainment activities, the appropriateness of the payment process for his performance fees, as well as the handling of expenses processed through his agency and affiliated companies.

During the subsequent tax review process, authorities reportedly identified issues with certain tax practices. As a result, Ji Chang Wook was assessed a tax liability amounting to billions of won.

Representatives for Ji Chang Wook confirmed the assessment while clarifying that there was no intentional tax evasion.

The actor's agency, Spring Company, released the following statement:

"We deeply apologize for the concern this issue has caused to many people. We want to make it absolutely clear that there was never any intentional concealment of income or fraudulent tax evasion.

During the recent tax audit, the company transparently provided all relevant documents and cooperated in good faith with the tax authorities. We have confirmed that there is a disagreement with the tax authorities regarding the interpretation and application of tax law concerning whether the actor's entertainment income should be attributed to an individual or a legal entity under the substance-over-form principle.

Since his debut in 2008, [Ji Chang Wook] has strictly complied with all laws and procedures, committing no tax violations, and fulfilling his tax obligations faithfully has always been his top priority.

We respect the findings of the National Tax Service and plan to pay the assessed tax promptly in accordance with applicable procedures. We will more thoroughly review our tax management and accounting systems to prevent similar incidents in the future, and will continue to faithfully meet our tax obligations while abiding by the law and its principles."

Currently, Ji Chang Wook appears on the big screen in the film "Colony" (군체), about people infected with an unknown virus turning into zombies. This is the third installment of director Yeon Sang Ho's zombie trilogy, following "Train to Busan". The film also stars Jun Ji Hyun, Koo Kyo Hwan, and Go Soo, among others. "Colony" premiered on May 15 at the Cannes Film Festival (out of competition) and has since been seen by nearly 3.5 million viewers in total.

Looking ahead, the actor has two Netflix projects lined up: the drama "Scandals" (스캔들) and the film "Ordinary People" (The Generals, 보통사람들), as well as a jTBC drama "Human X Gumiho" (인간X구미호) and a Korean-Japanese drama "Merry Berry Love" (メリーベリーラブ).

Sources 1, 2, 3