Cha Eun-woo of ASTRO will continue in military band; Defense Ministry sees no reason for reassignment despite public petitions.
May/7/2026 15:15Related Groups & Members
ASTRO's Cha Eun-woo is expected to continue serving in the military band. The Ministry of National Defense responded yesterday (6th) to a public petition asking for a review of Cha Eun-woo's military band assignment, stating, 'We will continue to maintain the current assignment.' They hold the position that there is no basis for changing the assignment or imposing disciplinary action. Through the response, the Ministry added, 'It does not fall under the reasons for assignment changes as stipulated by the Ministry of National Defense,' and 'At this stage, there is no basis for disciplinary action, nor do we judge that a reassignment is necessary.' Prior to this, in January of this year, a petition was submitted through the public petition system requesting the Ministry of National Defense to review Cha Eun-woo's military band assignment. In response, the Ministry's Inspection Office stated that there were no discussions or decisions regarding changes to the assignment, and that the tax evasion allegations themselves were not the subject of investigation by the unit. Subsequently, in April of this year, Cha Eun-woo apologized for the incident and announced that he had paid the full amount of the additional tax. Following this, a petition was submitted through the public petition system stating, 'The military band has significant external exposure and symbolism, and the appropriateness of the current duties should be reviewed.' It was reported that last year, Cha Eun-woo underwent a tax investigation by the Seoul Regional Tax Office and received a notification for additional taxes amounting to 20 billion won (approximately 22 million USD). The payment amount was confirmed to be about 13 billion won (approximately 13 million USD), which he paid in full last month.
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