Singer Hwang Young-woong has been accused of receiving cash donations amounting to hundreds of millions from fans.
On the 18th, SBS's "Curious Story Y" focused on the joint purchase process of Hwang Young-woong's album and the financial transactions that took place among fans.
A woman who identified herself as a fan of Hwang Young-woong said, "It seems that fans were curious when a singer who sang well and was certain to win (in a competition program) suddenly dropped out," adding, "After the controversy, the number of members in the fan cafe increased. It ranks fifth in the size of trot singer fandoms."
At that time, Hwang Young-woong's fans raised over 1.5 billion won within four days of the joint purchase, accumulating 6.1 billion won in a month. This fan testified, "There are people who bought albums by taking out loans or selling wedding rings, and some bought them with basic living expenses." Thanks to this, Hwang Young-woong's initial album sales exceeded 500,000 copies, and he successfully made a comeback after past controversies.
However, the controversy began when the transaction details of the fundraising account were leaked to the public. Fans revealed that "one person received all the money to purchase the album," and disclosed that 1 million won was withdrawn six times a day starting from the end of August 2023. It is estimated that over 1.2 billion won was withdrawn in cash over a total of 22 days.
In response, A, the former treasurer of Hwang Young-woong's fan cafe at the time, explained, "I delivered it to the singer. There are regional accounts, and I handed over the collected donations in cash." He added that it was based on some fans' opinions to withdraw the joint purchase amount in cash to support Hwang Young-woong, who had no income during a long period of self-reflection.
The agency stated, "Fans from each region agreed to donate 15 million won each, and we withdrew it to deliver directly to the singer in the waiting room," adding, "We processed the tax report as a gift tax."
In this regard, many trot industry insiders have drawn the line, stating that there is no culture of cash donations from fans. B, a former manager of a trot singer, said, "When I was a manager, I never heard of receiving money as donations. That has never happened."
After the broadcast, Hwang Young-woong's legal representative stated through the fan cafe, "The account in question was managed by the fan cafe's management team, and the donations were voluntary contributions made prior to the joint album purchase," adding, "Due to restrictions such as ATM withdrawal limits, cash withdrawals were made multiple times, and it has been confirmed that the entire amount was delivered to the singer by the fan management team."
He emphasized, "For some amounts, formal gift tax reporting and payment have been completed, and the central treasurer has conducted the settlement clearly, confirming that there are no issues after review by tax experts."
Hwang Young-woong's side is reportedly taking legal action regarding the related reports, including filing a complaint with the Media Arbitration Commission, civil and criminal lawsuits against SBS and related informants, and requesting corrections to the broadcast content.
Meanwhile, Hwang Young-woong appeared on the 2023 MBN competition program "Burning Trotman" and emerged as a strong candidate for victory, but he dropped out amid various allegations, including dating violence against a former girlfriend, school violence, and injury charges.
[Ji Seung-hoon, Star Today Reporter]
