Actor Lee Ha-nee, facing allegations including real-estate speculation under the name of a one-person agency corporation. Kyunghyang Shinmun file photo
Actor Lee Ha-nee denied allegations of improper tax avoidance surrounding her.
Team Hof, her agency, issued a statement on the 9th, saying “The address in question is the address of a business site where a leasing business is conducted, not the head office, and it was registered as a branch in accordance with administrative procedures for business registration” and “An outlet under the same trade name has been operating at the same location for more than 10 years prior to the acquisition, and apart from the lease relationship, it has no separate business connection with Hof Project.”
It added “At the time of the (building) acquisition, Hof Project comprehensively reviewed various potential uses, including using it as the corporate head-office location, creating a complex cultural and arts space, planning wellness-linked business, preparing workspaces for creation and content development, supporting emerging artists, and operating academy-style programs, and then entered into the sale contract.”
It went on “After the death of the seller, disputes among interested parties arose, and it took about three years to complete the transfer of ownership” and “During that period, relevant laws were amended, and as the existing tenant expressed a desire to continue operating, the lease has been renewed and maintained. The corporate utilization plans reviewed in this process are currently on hold.”
It also stated “The property was not purchased as an investment aimed at capital gains, and the related rental income is being properly managed in accordance with corporate accounting standards” and “The restaurant (beef-bone-soup house) is a business independently operated by the building tenant, and it is simply a case of leasing out the building.”
According to MBC ‘Straight’, which aired on the 8th, Lee Ha-nee registered a beef-bone-soup restaurant located in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul as a branch of the stock company Hani that she founded. The company has now changed its corporate name to Hof Project. Her husband, a U.S. national, serves as CEO, and Lee Ha-nee serves as an inside director.
Her agency purchased the building in the name of the corporation in November 2017 for 6.45 billion won.
‘Straight’ pointed out, “According to the certified copy of the register, the transfer of ownership was completed in 2020” and “Even after that, the long-term continuation of the restaurant tenancy is hard to accept based on the explanation alone.”
