As part of Korea's "tradition" of Nyeo (녀, girl) phenomenon, here's another controversial scoop that led to another nyeo/girl term, the “400-milliion-won luxury girl” (4억명품녀). In my previous entry, I also featured Rude Girl (경희대 패륜녀) as one of the examples.
A jobless daughter of rich parents can freely brag about her luxurious life on a cable TV program. But it could become a wholly different matter when the issue of gift tax is raised.
Appearing on m.net’s “Tent in the City” that was aired on Tuesday, the 24-year-old girl, Kim Kyung-ah, bragged that her outfit and accessories she was wearing were worth more than 400 million won ($343,000).
Introducing herself as jobless, she said “pocket money” given by her parents has enabled her to buy luxury clothes, accessories and travel overseas at any time.
In a self-filmed clip at her house, Kim boasted that her car was worth more than 300 million won and other designer-brand clothes along with accessories on display at her home in an upscale district in southern Seoul.
Her bragging caused a huge stir on the Internet and irked many. And a question was raised among netizens whether the girl, now famously known as the “400-milliion-won luxury girl,” is subject to any gift taxes.
Following the episode, the National Tax Service (NTS)’s website was bombarded with articles by angry citizens, who called for an intense tax audit of her parents.
“Her lavish spending was impossible without financial support from her parents,” an article read. “The authorities need to audit them to check whether they took appropriate steps to hand down their wealth to the daughter.”
Under the law, the maximum amount in gifts to the second generation without paying tax is set at 30 million won. At a session of the National Assembly, NTS head Lee Hyun-dong promised lawmakers it will look into the case.
However, as the tax authorities are moving to launch a tax audit to find any irregularities in maintaining her spending spree, the 24-year-old woman ate her words.
She said she was not as rich as shown by the program and insisted she just “acted” based on a script provided by staff, indicating that the non-fiction program was, as a matter of fact, fabricated to attract viewers’ attention.
But the program’s producer, m.net, an entertainment-only channel, is balking at her allegation, saying the program was not scripted and her lavish spending shown in the episode was clearly “real.”
For its part, the state broadcasting regulator said it will open an investigation into the program this week to check their clashing claims.
by Park Si-soo
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Rude Girl 경희대 패륜녀: http://jmsupercuteinkorea.blogspot.com/2010/05/issue-101-rude-girl.html
