“The Fiery Priest” Actress And Husband Charged Of Running Their Business Illegally For Ten Years

Actress Honey Lee and her husband have reportedly been referred to the prosecution on charges of running their entertainment management company illegally.

On December 23, the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul referred Lee, her husband, Mr. Jang, and their company, Hope Project, to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office without detention on charges of violating the Act on the Development of the Popular Culture and Arts Industry.

Lee established the company, Honey Co., Ltd., in 2015 and changed its name to Hope Project in 2018. Her husband is the CEO at the corporation, while she serves as a director. It was recently discovered that the company had been operating without proper registration, resulting in a police investigation. According to the Act on the Development of the Popular Culture and Arts Industry, corporations or individual businesses with more than one person must register their planning business. Violations are subject to criminal penalties, including imprisonment for up to two years or a fine of up to ₩20.0 million KRW (approximately $13,500 USD).

Honey Lee’s representatives claimed at the time that they “did not fully understand the registration requirements and therefore did not proceed with the procedure.” Her agency addressed this issue again on December 24, stating that Hope Project had completed the registration process of its popular culture and arts planning business in accordance with Article 26, Paragraph 1 of the ‘Act on the Development of the Popular Culture and Arts Industry,’ and officially received the registration certificate on October 28. Still, they agreed to cooperate with all the procedures involved to resolve this matter legally.

Meanwhile, earlier this year, Hope Project stirred up another controversy regarding approximately [krw] 6 billion [/rw] in back taxes. Honey Lee reportedly paid an additional [krw] 6 billion [/krw] in taxes following a tax audit by the Seoul Regional Tax Office last year. Issues reportedly included the corporation, Hope Project, paying ₩2.70 billion KRW (approximately $1.82 million USD) in salaries from 2021 to 2023 to individuals without regular employment, and purchasing a ₩6.45 billion KRW (approximately $4.36 million USD) building under the corporation’s name just two years after its establishment.

Later, Lee’s side explained that the company had fulfilled their tax obligations, claiming that the additional tax assessment came from a difference in legal interpretation. The actress herself addressed the controversy during her last K-Drama Aema’s press conference, explaining that the case was under review by a higher authority.

Meanwhile, Honey Lee gave birth to her second child in August of this year and is expected to return to the small screen with the upcoming Netflix K-Drama, Show Business, starring Song Hye-kyo and Gong Yoo in the lead roles.

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