South Korea Delays Crypto Tax for Fourth Time, Finance Minister Regrets

South Korea will delay cryptocurrency taxation for another two years beyond its planned launch next year, marking the fourth postponement of a levy first legislated in 2020. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lee Hyeong-il told the National Assembly on Nov. 11 that he "takes it seriously and expresses regret" over the repeated delays.

Lee spoke at a plenary session of the National Assembly's Strategy and Finance Committee, responding to Rep. Bae Jun-hyung of the ruling People Power Party. The lawmaker pressed the government to at least acknowledge the confusion caused to the public by years of shifting start dates.

"I take seriously the fact that, after three previous delays, we decided on another two-year postponement, and I express my regret," Lee said. He later added: "I again take this matter seriously."

Why the government delayed again

Lee said the cabinet weighed two considerations before deciding on the postponement. First, fairness between investors migrating to overseas exchanges and those remaining on domestic platforms. Second, related legislative matters, including the enactment of the Framework Act on Digital Assets, which the government cited as a prerequisite for a coherent tax regime.

The government announced the two-year delay on Nov. 5. It applies to income from crypto transfers and lending that had been scheduled to enter taxation from next year.

The timeline itself has a long history:

• Crypto income taxation was introduced through a 2020 revision to the Income Tax Act.
• The levy was originally set to begin in 2022.
• It was subsequently pushed back three times — to 2023, 2025 and 2027.
• The latest plan, if it holds, would mark a fourth delay.

What does this change for investors and platforms?

For domestic investors, the decision means crypto gains and lending income remain untaxed at the income-tax level through at least the end of the two-year window, extending a de facto holiday that began in 2022. For Korean exchanges and lending platforms, it preserves the current operating environment while the Framework Act on Digital Assets moves through the legislature — a statute expected to define the market structure on which any future tax rules would rest.

The fairness argument cuts both ways. The government's stated concern is that Koreans shifting to offshore exchanges to escape taxation would gain an advantage over users of domestic platforms, weakening the local market before a comprehensive legal framework exists. The delay removes that pressure point for now, but it also leaves Korean crypto income outside the tax net for longer than almost any comparable asset class — a gap that opposition lawmakers and fiscal analysts have repeatedly flagged.

For practitioners, the practical consequence is planning certainty of only two years. Any investor or platform building a tax-compliance function now has a moving target: the 2027 date depends on the Framework Act's passage and on the government's ability to resist a fifth postponement.

The immediate question ahead is legislative. Whether the National Assembly enacts the Framework Act on Digital Assets within the new two-year window will determine whether the 2027 start date holds or joins the lengthening list of missed deadlines.