South Korea’s Crypto Regulatory Framework Nears Final Stage as Tax Timing Debate Intensifies

South Korea’s top financial regulator has signaled that consultations on a comprehensive digital asset law are approaching their conclusion, even as lawmakers and market participants step up pressure over the timing of a long-postponed tax on cryptocurrency gains.

On October 22, 2026, during a comprehensive audit by the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee, Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eog-weon stated that inter-agency discussions on the Digital Asset Basic Act had entered their final phase.

He pledged to move the measure forward as quickly as possible so that formal legislative review could begin.

The proposed statute is intended to establish a unified legal foundation covering the issuance and distribution of digital assets.

Key elements include licensing regimes for cryptocurrency exchanges, rules for the issuance of stablecoins, and clearer statutory definitions of the assets themselves.

Remaining points of negotiation reportedly involve ownership-cap limits for major shareholders of exchanges and the structure for won-denominated stablecoins, which has centered on consortia in which banks hold a controlling stake.

At the same hearing, opposition lawmaker Song Eon-seok questioned the sequence of imposing taxation before the basic regulatory framework is complete.