Cha Eun-woo’s Next Role Comes Into Focus in Wonderfools as Attention Returns to His Tax Controversy

Cha Eun-woo is back in the spotlight with a new Netflix project, but the conversation around his return is unfolding on two tracks at once.

On April 29, Netflix unveiled new character stills from its upcoming series Wonderfools, a fantasy drama set in 1999 about ordinary neighborhood residents who suddenly gain superpowers and struggle to protect their town from a villain threatening the peace. Among the cast is Cha Eun-woo, whose appearance in the series is drawing added attention because it comes after the tax controversy that surfaced earlier this year.

The newly released images shift the focus back onto the actor’s screen presence but not without the baggage of recent public scrutiny.

The first stills highlight a hidden side to his character

In Wonderfools, Cha Eun-woo plays Un-jeong, a specially hired civil servant working in the complaints office of Haeseong City.

At first glance, the character appears quiet and restrained. But according to the release, Un-jeong is also a man with a hidden past and telekinetic powers, someone trying to live discreetly until he becomes entangled with the other central figures in the story. That contrast is visible in the stills. In one image, he appears as a neatly dressed government employee in glasses and a suit. In another, he is shown with a cap pulled low, using his powers in secret. The shift suggests that Un-jeong may become one of the series’ more layered and tightly guarded figures.

A fantasy ensemble with a quirky tone

The images released by Netflix also gave a clearer sense of the wider cast and tone.

Park Eun-bin’s Chae-ni looks bewildered by a teleportation ability that seems to activate at random. Choi Dae-hoon’s Gyeong-hun, a man notorious for filing endless civic complaints, is shown staring in confusion at pot lids stuck to his hands. Lim Sung-jae’s Robin, a timid figure nicknamed the town’s pushover, is pictured lifting a police car with ease.

Taken together, the stills suggest that Wonderfools is aiming for a strange, character-driven kind of superpowered story one less focused on conventional heroism than on the chaos of ordinary people suddenly becoming anything but ordinary.

The role is being watched more closely because of the tax issue

At the same time, the project is being discussed as one of Cha Eun-woo’s most visible screen appearances since his tax controversy became public in January.

According to the report, the National Tax Service questioned a management service contract tied to a corporation established by his mother and imposed a large income tax reassessment. At the time, the issue developed into a major public controversy, with reports initially citing a figure of around 20 billion won in unpaid taxes.

Later, Cha Eun-woo said he had paid all reassessed taxes and apologized for causing disappointment and confusion to fans and the public.

He says the taxes were fully paid

The article states that Cha Eun-woo announced on April 8 that he had completed payment of the taxes he had been ordered to pay.

He said he was taking the matter seriously and apologized again, saying he felt deep responsibility given the support he had received throughout his career. The report adds that the amount he ultimately paid came to around 13 billion won, after some of the previously paid corporate tax and value-added tax were recognized as overlapping taxation and refunded.

That detail has become an important part of how the controversy is being framed now. The public debate may not be over, but his side has made clear that the reassessed amount itself was settled.

The release comes while he is still in military service

Another layer of attention comes from timing.

Cha Eun-woo enlisted in July last year and is currently serving in the military band, with his discharge scheduled for January next year. That means Wonderfools is arriving while he is still away from normal entertainment promotions, making the newly revealed character images one of the main ways audiences are now re-engaging with his work.

For Netflix, the stills introduce a new fantasy ensemble with a strong commercial hook. For Cha Eun-woo, they also mark the return of a familiar question: how his career will be read now that a new role is arriving under heavier public attention than before.

For now, the platform is letting the character speak first. And in these first images, Cha Eun-woo’s Un-jeong looks like someone hiding far more than just a superpower.