According to Korea JoongAng DailyFantagio said in a statement that Kim established a wholly owned corporation in January 2024 to manage his acting activities and theater productions. Settlement payments for work carried out between January 2024 and February 2025 were made through the company, before Kim signed an exclusive contract with Fantagio in February 2025.

“After recognizing that the operation of the corporation itself could give rise to misunderstanding, Kim stopped operating it,” the agency said. “For more than a year, there has effectively been no activity conducted through the corporation.”

Fantagio emphasized that since the exclusive contract took effect, all settlement payments have been made directly to Kim as an individual, and that the corporation has no connection to his current activities under the agency.

The agency said the corporation is now undergoing dissolution, describing the move as a “preemptive step to correct what was then an uninformed approach to corporate management.” All corporate credit card usage, salaries paid to Kim’s family members, and a company vehicle have been fully returned, it added.

“With regard to amounts previously settled through the corporation, additional personal income tax has been fully paid on top of the corporate tax already paid,” Fantagio said, noting that administrative procedures to the company’s closure are expected to be completed soon.

Kim is “deeply reflecting” on having established and maintained the corporation for about a year without sufficient understanding of corporate operations, the agency said, according to Channel News Asia.

“He sincerely bows his head in apology,” the statement added.

Fantagio also apologized for causing confusion and concern, pledging to strengthen oversight of its artists’ business and financial activities.

The clarification follows a media report on Sunday that raised questions about Kim’s use of a family-run corporation. The report claimed the actor had set up a performance planning company registered at his home address in Seoul’s Yongsan District, with family members listed as executives, prompting speculation that income may have been routed through the entity to reduce tax burden.

The report drew comparisons to fellow Fantagio artist Cha Eun Woo, who recently came under public scrutiny over allegations that he owed the National Tax Service 20 billion won (US$13.7 million) in unpaid taxes and penalties.

Kim, 40, began his acting career as a theater performer in Seoul’s Daehangno District in 2009, earning recognition for his stage work and the nickname “theater idol.” He made his television debut in the 2017 drama series “Good Manager” and his film debut in the 2023 action thriller “The Childe.”