South Korea’s Ministry of Finance has confirmed that the long-delayed tax on crypto gains will go into effect as planned in January 2027.
Moon Kyung-ho, director of the ministry’s income tax department, made the announcement at an extraordinary parliamentary forum on virtual property taxation held at the National Assembly Office Building in Seoul on Thursday, according to to the South Korean newspaper Edaily. The forum was hosted by MP Park Soo-young from the People’s Power Party and the Korea Tax Policy Association.
“We will continue to tax virtual assets as planned in January next year,” Moon said in what appeared to be the ministry’s first public confirmation that the crypto tax framework would move forward after multiple delays.
Under the current Income Tax Law, profits from the transfer or lending of virtual assets will be categorized as “other income” starting January 1, 2027. Investors earning more than 2.5 million Korean won ($1,800) per year from crypto activities will face a 22% tax, including a 20% income tax and a 2% local tax. The rule applies to an estimated 13.26 million investors.
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South Korea prepares tax guidelines
Moon said the National Tax Service is currently finalizing guidelines on the new system and has held several working meetings with five major South Korean exchanges, including Dunama (Upbit), Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax, to prepare a draft notice.
He added that the notice would be released for legislative review during 2026. Speaking to reporters after the forum, Moon dropped the use of the word “soon,” clarifying that the notice would come sometime this year, not soon.
Moon Kyung-ho at the National Assembly Representative Office Building in Yeouido, Seoul. Source: Edaily.
South Korean regulators have already delayed the crypto tax twice, moving the start date from 2025 to 2027 due to political disagreements and industry opposition over exchange readiness and threshold levels. Recently, the ruling People’s Power Party proposed a draft law on the complete abolition of the tax before its introduction in 2027.
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South Korea’s crypto industry rejects AML rules
As reported by Cointelegraph, proposed changes to South Korea’s anti-money laundering (AML) rules have drawn sharp criticism from the country’s crypto industry. DAXA, an industry body representing 27 registered virtual asset service providers, warned that requiring exchanges to flag all overseas transfers of 10 million won or more as suspicious would increase reported cases 85-fold, from about 63,000 last year to more than 5.4 million, making compliance unfeasible in practice.
The Financial Services Commission and the Financial Intelligence Unit proposed the changes on March 30, with a public comment period running until May 11, with final rules expected in July.
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