Korea's fourth crypto tax delay petition drew signatures at a third of May's pace
A petition for a two-year delay reached the National Assembly's Strategy and Finance Committee with 51,004 names, and the finance minister nominee has told the committee that starting the 22% levy in January 2027 is desirable.
The Investor · Invest desk
What happened
- The petition for a two-year delay opened on the National Assembly portal on August 21 and reached 51,004 signatures by the morning of September 14, clearing the 50,000 threshold for committee referral.
- Lee Hyoung-il, the nominee for deputy prime minister and finance minister, said in written answers to the committee on Sunday that it is "desirable to implement the tax as scheduled."
- The levy charges 20% national plus a 2% local surcharge on annual gains above a 2.5 million won deduction, applies to transactions from January 1, 2027, and is first filed and paid in May 2028.
- Three People Power Party lawmakers have filed competing bills: Song Eon-seog to delete the tax clauses, Jung Sung-kook to start in 2030, and Kim Sang-hoon in 2029, the year the petition's two-year ask would also produce.
Why it matters
- Who has to decide decision Anyone sitting on gains has about 15 and a half months in which a disposal falls outside the levy, and from 2027 the 2.5 million won deduction removes at most 550,000 won of tax a year.
- What it limits constraint DAXA says exchanges have no standardized data network with regulators, so the reporting system has to be built and tested before the first taxable year, and that readiness gap is the strongest ground a fourth delay could stand on.
- What doesn't add up contradiction The petition argues the tax will raise little and points to Dunamu's roughly 22.6 billion won of additional taxes after a National Tax Service audit, an assessment that fell on a company, while the January 2027 levy taxes individual gains.
- Who's exposed exposure The commitment to the date rests on the written answers of a nominee whose confirmation hearing was Tuesday, so the schedule's most senior advocate is not yet in the job.
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The May petition asked for abolition and reached 50,000 signatures in eight days [16]. The one now in front of the committee asked for two more years, opened on August 21 and reached 51,004 names by the morning of September 14 [2], 24 days later, or roughly 2,125 a day against at least 6,250 in May [19][20][21].
Referral is procedural. Any petition clearing 50,000 verified signatures inside 30 days goes automatically to the relevant standing committee, here Strategy and Finance, which handles income tax law [3]. All the committee can do is weigh the petitioner's case against the government's and decide whether an amendment is needed [4]. The May petition was referred and went nowhere [16].
Two sets of numbers carry the petitioner's case. On capital flight, the petition puts about 700 trillion won of crypto-linked funds offshore over five years and 168 trillion won last year, which runs 20% above the five-year average of 140 trillion [8][22], with roughly 5 trillion won a year going to overseas exchanges in fees, about 3% of last year's outflow [8][23]. On demographics, the petitioner wrote in a translated statement that taxing now would take away a "wealth ladder" for young people, who are about half of Korea's crypto investors [17].
Lee Hyoung-il, the nominee who would run the ministry that collects it, said it was "appropriate" to classify crypto gains as miscellaneous income and said the National Tax Service will publish detailed standards through a public notice before year-end [11]. That would put written rules in print about twelve months before the first taxable trade [26].
I'd expect January 2027 to hold, and the government says it plans to proceed on schedule [15]. The counter-case is the record: written in 2020 for a 2022 start, then moved to 2023, then 2025, then 2027 [14]. The start has slipped five years from the original date, and the first payment now falls in May 2028, eight years after drafting [28][6][27]. DAXA's argument is also the one that has worked before, because a reporting network that does not exist gives the ministry a practical reason to move [9]. If the tax service's notice does not appear before year-end, that readiness argument gets its opening [11].
What to watch
- Whether the Strategy and Finance Committee takes up any of the three opposition bills or lets this referral lapse as it did in May.
- Whether Lee Hyoung-il clears Tuesday's confirmation hearing and keeps the ministry behind the January 2027 date.
- Whether DAXA and the tax service settle an exchange reporting network in time for trades from January 1, 2027.
Information, not investment advice. This story is general information about companies and markets, drawn from cited reporting. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security; check the cited sources before acting.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence62
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+10
- Incentives70
- Confidence65
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
A petition seeking a two-year delay to South Korea's planned 22% crypto income tax has passed 50,000 signatures.
- [2]
Citizens filed the petition on the National Assembly's electronic petition portal on August 21, and it had gathered 51,004 signatures by the morning of September 14, about three weeks.
- [3]
Petitions that gather above 50,000 verified signatures within 30 days are automatically sent to the relevant standing committee, in this case the National Assembly's Strategy and Finance Committee, which handles income tax law.
- [4]
The referral does not force a change; the committee can only consider the petitioner's case and the government's position and decide if a law needs amending.
- [5]
If nothing changes, the tax law goes into effect on January 1, 2027, and profits from selling, transferring or lending digital assets will be treated as miscellaneous income and charged a 22% tax rate.
- [6]
The 22% comprises a 20% national rate plus a 2% local surcharge, on annual gains above a 2.5 million won deduction; income earned in 2027 would first be reported and paid in May 2028.
- [7]
The petitioner stated that taxing the finances of exchanges would not raise much, citing that Upbit operator Dunamu disclosed approximately 22.6 billion won in additional taxes following a National Tax Service audit.
- [8]
The petition said about 700 trillion won in crypto-linked funds moved offshore over five years, 168 trillion won last year alone, with roughly 5 trillion won a year going to overseas exchanges in fees.
- [9]
The Digital Asset eXchange Association (DAXA) told lawmakers this month that exchanges lack a standardized data network with regulators and need more time to build and test the plumbing.
- [10]
Lee Hyoung-il, the nominee for deputy prime minister and finance minister, said in written answers submitted to the committee on Sunday that it is "desirable to implement the tax as scheduled."
- [11]
Lee said it was "appropriate" to classify crypto gains as miscellaneous income and said the National Tax Service will publish detailed standards through a public notice before year-end.
- [12]
Lee faces a confirmation hearing on Tuesday.
- [13]
Opposition People Power Party lawmakers have filed competing bills: Rep. Song Eon-seog wants the tax clauses deleted, Rep. Jung Sung-kook has proposed pushing the start to 2030, and Rep. Kim Sang-hoon filed a separate amendment for a 2029 date.
- [14]
The tax was written in 2020 for a 2022 start, then postponed to 2023, 2025, and finally 2027, which is why petitioners are now seeking a fourth delay.
- [15]
The referral has no legal binding force and the government has confirmed it still plans to proceed on schedule in January 2027.
- [16]
An earlier attempt in May sought to get rid of the tax completely instead of postponing it, hit 50,000 signatures in eight days, was referred, and then went nowhere.
- [17]
Taxing now, the petitioner wrote in a translated statement, would take away a "wealth ladder" for young people in the country who make up about half of Korea's crypto investors.
- [18]
A two-year delay from the January 1, 2027 start would move the tax to 2029, the same year as Rep. Kim Sang-hoon's amendment.
- [19]
August 21 to September 14 is 24 days, so 51,004 signatures works out to roughly 2,125 a day.
- [20]
The May petition's 50,000 signatures in eight days is at least 6,250 a day.
- [21]
The current petition's daily signature rate is about a third of the May attempt's.
- [22]
700 trillion won over five years averages 140 trillion won a year, so last year's 168 trillion won is 20% above that average.
- [23]
Roughly 5 trillion won a year in overseas exchange fees is about 3% of last year's 168 trillion won of outflow.
- [24]
At the combined 22% rate, the 2.5 million won annual deduction removes at most 550,000 won of tax a year.
- [25]
From September 14 to December 31, 2026 is about 15 and a half months in which a disposal falls outside the levy.
- [26]
A National Tax Service notice published before year-end would land about twelve months before the January 1, 2027 start.
- [27]
A first payment in May 2028 comes eight years after the law was written in 2020.
- [28]
The 2027 start is five years later than the original 2022 start date.
Sources
2 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- crowdfundinsider.comSouth Korean Digital Asset Investors Call for Another Tax Filing Delay as Regulatory Officials Remain Firm on their Stance
1 article · September 14, 2026
- cryptopolitan.comSouth Korea investors seek fourth crypto tax delay as government holds firm
1 article · September 14, 2026
Topics and entities
Topics
- Crypto tax reporting
- Crypto Regulation and Licensing
- South Korea crypto taxation
Entities
- People Power Party
- National Tax Service
- Upbit
- Dunamu
- Strategy and Finance Committee
- OECD Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework
- National Assembly
- Lee Hyoung-il