Busan KCC Demands Explanation from KOGAS Regarding Ra Gun-ah Tax Dispute

Busan KCC, a professional basketball team, has demanded an explanation from the Daegu KOGAS Pegasus, accusing the club of making false claims regarding a tax payment dispute involving player Ra Gun-ah.

In an official statement released today (June 10), the KCC club asserted, "The Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS) has severely damaged our club's reputation during the process of filing for an injunction to suspend the KBL's disciplinary action regarding Ra Gun-ah's taxes."

KCC stated that KOGAS had claimed through certain media outlets that "KCC exerted influence on the KBL Board of Directors to shift the burden of comprehensive income tax, which they should have paid themselves, without any reasonable justification."

"This is an absurd 'conspiracy theory' and clearly constitutes defamation through the assertion of false facts," KCC added. "We will consider taking legal action if there is no appropriate explanation."

Ra Gun-ah, who played for KOGAS during the 2025-2026 season, sparked controversy over a comprehensive income tax issue (398 million KRW) that arose in 2024 while he was with Busan KCC.

In May 2024, the KBL Board of Directors decided to terminate Ra's naturalized player contract and transition him to a standard foreign player contract, ruling that the income tax for that year would be borne by the "final acquiring club."

Accordingly, KOGAS, which signed Ra for the 2025-2026 season, was responsible for paying the tax. However, after joining KOGAS, Ra paid the tax himself and filed a lawsuit against KCC—the other party to the contract—seeking the return of unjust enrichment, claiming that KCC should have covered the cost.

After KOGAS continued to refuse to pay the tax, the KBL decided to strip the club of its first-round draft pick in the upcoming domestic rookie draft.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.