South Korea's Ruling and Opposition Parties Agree to Delay Crypto Tax by Two Years

South Korea's ruling and opposition parties have tentatively agreed to delay taxation of virtual-asset income by two years, pushing the levy's start date from next year to 2027, lawmakers said on November 11.

Rep. Oh Gi-hyoung of the Democratic Party, the ruling party's ranking member on the National Assembly's tax subcommittee, told reporters after the meeting that lawmakers had reached a consensus on the delay. Some procedural details remain under discussion, he said, but the government's two-year postponement proposal faced no major disagreement between the two parties.

For now, Oh said it is fair to say the tax has been pushed back by two years.

What happens to the amendment?

The proposed amendment to the Income Tax Act containing the delay did not clear the subcommittee on November 11. Two sticking points held it up: the government's opposition to raising the basic deduction for virtual-asset taxes, and continued disagreement among lawmakers over provisions including a rule that would require crypto exchanges to submit trading data starting next year.

Oh said the tax subcommittee will make a final decision on the last day of deliberations, leaving the amendment's exact passage date open even as the two-year delay itself appears settled.

How did the tax get here?

The government announced on November 5 that it would postpone for another two years the taxation of income from transfers and lending of virtual assets, which had been scheduled to begin next year. Taxation of virtual-asset income was first introduced in a 2020 revision to the Income Tax Act and was originally set to take effect in 2022.

It has now been deferred three times — to 2023, then 2025, and under the current deal to 2027. Each postponement has extended the window in which Korean crypto traders' gains remain untaxed at the income-tax level.

What does the opposition want in return?

Rep. Bae Jun-young of the People Power Party, the opposition's ranking member on the committee, said the government must prepare responsibly as the tax is deferred again. He added that lawmakers would closely monitor whether the government is making a serious effort and how its preparations are progressing.

That positions the delay as conditional political cover rather than a clean cancellation: the legislature intends to keep pressure on the tax administration to build the systems needed to collect crypto income tax when the new 2027 date arrives.

For exchanges operating in Korea, the unresolved data-reporting provision is the immediate operational question. A mandate to submit trading data from next year would create compliance obligations regardless of when the tax itself takes effect, and lawmakers' continued disagreement over that rule leaves platforms without a clear timeline.

The subcommittee's final deliberation day now serves as the next concrete deadline for settling the deduction dispute, the exchange reporting rule and the formal passage of the two-year delay.