Comedian Park Na-rae pays tens of millions won in penalty after tax audit

Comedian Park Na-rae was ordered to pay tens of millions of won in penalty surcharge by the National Tax Service after a special audit.

Comedian Park Na-rae [YONHAP]

Comedian Park Na-rae was ordered to pay tens of millions of won in penalty surcharge by the National Tax Service after a special audit.

The exact amount of the surcharge has not been disclosed.

The comedian's agency, JDB Entertainment, said Tuesday that there was no purposeful attempt to dodge tax.

"The comedian paid the [surcharge the National Tax Service ordered Park to pay] because there were discrepancies between her tax accountant's interpretation of the tax law and that of the authority," it said. "The surcharge is irrelevant to the tax evasion."

"Park has been duly paying taxes and complying with her tax obligations," the agency added.

The National Tax Service conducts special audits when it finds an individual or an entity has failed to report their earnings or reported expenses inappropriately.

The revenue service has been conducting such audits targeting high-income celebrities, athletes and professional Esports players since last year.

BY JEONG HYE-JEONG, LEE SOO-JUNG [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]