S.M. Entertainment to pay $10 million in additional taxes

June 23, 2014
Lee Soo-man, founding chairman of S.M. Entertainment. (Newsis)

Lee Soo-man, founding chairman of S.M. Entertainment. (Newsis)

SM Entertainment, which faced a tax audit from the Seoul Regional National Tax Service in March for suspicions of tax evasion, has been ordered to pay about $10 million in corporate taxes.

The entertainment giant, which produces and manages K-pop wonders such as Girls’ Generation, EXO, SHINee, TVXQ and Super Junior, said in a press release Monday that the extra payment is for the difference of foreign tax payment credit accrued by SM Entertainment Japan.

It said it sees the additional tax payment not as a burden but as an opportunity through which it has learned the exact limits of foreign tax payment credit.

In March, the company denied rumors that it had set up paper companies under the names of their artists in foreign countries to dodge filing for taxes.

“The tax audit revealed that there was no evasion for either foreign businesses or for income from foreign concerts,” S.M. said in its release. “It was revealed that there was no evidence for suspicions regarding our foreign real estate.”