Opposition Moves to Delay South Korea’s 22% Crypto Income Tax to 2030

Overview

• People Power Party lawmaker Jeong Seong-guk has filed an amendment that would change the tax’s effective date from Jan. 1, 2027, to Jan. 1, 2030 while leaving the law’s text intact.
• Under the current law the levy treats crypto transfers and lending as "other income," exempts the first 2.5 million won of annual gains, and taxes amounts above that at a combined 22% (20% national plus 2% local).
• A separate opposition bill by Song Eon-seok would instead repeal the cryptocurrency income tax by deleting the relevant clause from the Income Tax Act, giving lawmakers two paths to block the 2027 start.
• Tax authorities and regulators are already building enforcement systems including a National Tax Service digital-asset unit and plans to receive cross-border transaction data under the OECD reporting framework, which could supply overseas trade records to Korean tax officials.
• The final outcome depends on National Assembly committee and subcommittee decisions later this year and could affect when taxpayers must first report 2027 crypto gains, how exchanges operate, and whether trading moves to foreign platforms, DeFi or peer-to-peer channels.