South Korean officials will meet the country’s five largest cryptocurrency exchanges on October 20 as pressure builds for a fourth postponement of a digital-asset tax scheduled to take effect in January. The meeting comes four days after ruling-party lawmaker Park Min-gyu introduced legislation that could effectively move implementation from 2027 to 2029, but current law has not changed.
According to Yonhap, representatives from Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Digital X and GOPAX will attend alongside the Digital Asset eXchange Alliance. First Vice Minister of Finance and Economy Kwon Dae-young and Financial Services Commission digital-finance policy chief Yoo Young-jun are also expected to participate. The government is gathering industry views on tax readiness rather than convening a body capable of delaying the tax directly.
South Korea’s National Tax Service states that income from transfers or lending of virtual assets after January 1, 2027 will be separately taxed as other income. The national rate is 20% after eligible costs and an annual KRW2.5 million deduction, with local income tax producing the commonly cited 22% combined burden.
Exchanges Challenge Readiness for January 2027
Industry concerns increasingly focus on whether the tax can be applied consistently across different forms of crypto activity. Staking, airdrops, hard forks and DeFi remain areas where detailed treatment is still being refined, while private-wallet and overseas-exchange activity can be harder for domestic authorities to observe. The dispute is therefore as much about tax-base visibility and transaction classification as it is about the headline rate.
The NTS has already established several important rules. Acquisition costs are generally calculated using the total-average method, while assets held before implementation receive a deemed cost basis based on the higher of actual acquisition cost or market value immediately before the regime begins. The tax authority is also preparing additional guidance for November. South Korea is not starting from an undefined tax system, but material implementation questions remain as the effective date approaches.
Other concerns include the absence of loss carryforwards and perceived differences between crypto and domestic equity taxation. A recent survey of 30 industry executives and academics found overwhelming support for postponement, although those responses represent industry and expert sentiment rather than government policy.
The debate comes while local exchange economics are already under pressure. South Korean platforms recorded a 78% decline in operating profit during the first half of 2026, alongside a 44% decline in average daily trading volume. Those figures document a weaker domestic trading environment but do not establish that expectations of the 2027 tax caused the contraction.
2029 Proposal Still Requires Parliamentary Approval
Park Min-gyu’s amendment would change the effective date to January 1 of the second year after South Korea begins exchanging crypto-asset information internationally under the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework. With the first CARF information exchange currently expected in 2027, that formula would move the tax start to 2029.
The proposal remains legislation under consideration. Other lawmakers have promoted different approaches, including a delay to 2030, while officials continue preparing for implementation under existing law. Unless the National Assembly amends the Income Tax Act, January 1, 2027 remains the operative date.
The tax debate is unfolding alongside broader changes to South Korea’s digital-asset framework. The FSC has established a tokenized-securities roadmap beginning in February 2027, while Kakao Pay and KakaoBank are exploring won-stablecoin infrastructure with Fireblocks ahead of finalized issuance rules.
The October 20 consultation could influence how policymakers approach another delay, but it cannot postpone the tax on its own. The immediate question is whether the government’s implementation work and November guidance are judged sufficient, or whether growing political support for postponement translates into an actual amendment before the 2027 start date.
