Ruling party joins growing calls to delay crypto taxation

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) joined opposition lawmakers and industry groups Monday in calling for a delay on cryptocurrency taxation, adding momentum to growing demand to postpone the planned January rollout.

The tax is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2027, but concerns over the readiness of the tax system have grown as the deadline approaches.

Rep. Min Byung-duk, a senior member of the DPK's policy committee, said that taxation should be pushed back until after the passage of the Digital Asset Basic Act.

“It's not right to start taxation when the basic law has yet to be established. We need a solid foundation to collect taxes in a credible way, and that foundation is not yet in place," the lawmaker said at EastPoint: Seoul 2026, a private conference on virtual assets held Monday in Seoul.

Min pointed to difficulties in tracking income from overseas exchanges and the lack of a system for carrying forward investment losses. He said his concerns were about the timing readiness of the tax system, rather than taxation itself.

The DPK's calls for delay come as the government maintains that the tax should be implemented as scheduled.

On the same day, Finance Minister Lee Hyoung-il backed the planned rollout, saying that the tax law already provides for virtual asset income to be taxed starting next year.