Investigations Reveal Suspicious Move By ASTRO Cha Eunwoo’s Company As Soon As Investigations Open

ASTRO‘s Cha Eunwoo has recently been implicated in tax evasion allegations. As investigations begin, here’s what has been reported in the Korean media thus far.

A field investigation was conducted on January 26, 2026, by Ganghwa County Office into a limited liability company owned by him, which had been registered at the address of a grilled eel restaurant in Ganghwa that was operated by his mother. However, it was confirmed that on the same day, the company completed an address change application and left Ganghwa County. That day also marked the first time Cha Eunwoo, who is currently serving in the military, issued a statement since the controversy emerged.

On January 28, a Ganghwa County official reported that there was no office at the location.

“After the controversy surfaced, we conducted an on-site inspection of the corporation registered in Ganghwa County as Cha Eunwoo’s planning business, but there was no office, no equipment, and no facilities for carrying out business operations.”

The eel restaurant that had been registered as the address of Cha Eunwoo’s LLC opened in 2020 under his mother’s name and operated for about five years. After Cha Eunwoo enlisted in July last year, the restaurant entered a remodeling phase and is currently not in operation. It has also been reported that the remodeling work itself has now been halted. An official explained, “Not only were there no fixtures or equipment, but there were also no facilities for office work, making it difficult to determine that the space was being used as an office.”

Coincidentally, the corporation moved out of Ganghwa County on the same day.

“On the day the on-site inspection was conducted, an application was submitted to Gangnam District Office to change the address of Cha Eunwoo’s LLC, and the transfer-out process was completed that same day.”

According to Ilgan Sports, Cha Eunwoo has two LLCs, the one registered at the eel restaurant address is registered as a popular culture and arts planning business, while the other is reportedly not registered.

Last year, Cha Eunwoo was investigated by the Seoul Regional Tax Office’s Investigation Division 4 on suspicion of tax evasion, and it has been reported that the National Tax Service recently notified him of additional tax payments exceeding ₩20.0 billion KRW (about $14.0 million USD). You may read more about it below.

ASTRO’s Cha Eunwoo Accused Of Tax Evasion Totaling Up To $13.7 Million USD