South Korea to Introduce Crypto Tax in 2027
BITmarkets Team
May 12, 2026
The announcement was made by Moon Kyung-ho, director of the ministry’s income tax division, during an emergency parliamentary forum on virtual asset taxation held at the National Assembly Members’ Office Building in Seoul on Thursday. The event was organized by Representative Park Soo-young of the People Power Party and the Korea Tax Policy Association.
“We will proceed with virtual asset taxation as scheduled in January next year,” Moon said, marking what appears to be the ministry’s clearest public confirmation that the framework will proceed after several previous delays.
Under the current Income Tax Act, profits generated through the transfer or lending of virtual assets will be treated as “other income” starting Jan. 1, 2027. Investors earning more than 2.5 million Korean won (approximately $1,800) annually from crypto-related activities will be subject to a 22% tax rate, consisting of a 20% income tax and a 2% local tax. The rules are expected to affect approximately 13.26 million investors.
Tax guidance and exchange coordination underway
Moon said the National Tax Service is currently preparing guidance for the upcoming framework and has already held several working-level discussions with the country’s five major crypto exchanges. These include Dunamu, operator of Upbit, along with Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax.
According to Moon, a draft notice outlining implementation details is expected to be published for legislative review during 2026. Although he initially suggested the guidance could arrive “soon,” he later clarified to reporters that publication is expected sometime this year rather than immediately.
South Korean authorities have already postponed the crypto tax framework twice, delaying implementation from 2025 to 2027 amid political disagreements and concerns from the industry regarding exchange readiness and taxation thresholds. More recently, the opposition People Power Party introduced legislation aimed at abolishing the tax entirely before it comes into force.
Crypto industry raises AML compliance concerns
At the same time, South Korea’s crypto industry has pushed back against proposed changes to the country’s anti-money laundering (AML) regulations. As previously reported, DAXA, which represents 27 registered virtual asset service providers, warned that the proposed rules could dramatically increase compliance burdens for exchanges.
The proposed amendments would require exchanges to flag all overseas-linked transfers worth 10 million won or more as suspicious transactions. DAXA argued that this could increase the number of reported cases from around 63,000 last year to more than 5.4 million annually, making compliance difficult in practice.
The proposals were introduced on March 30 by the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Intelligence Unit. Public consultation on the rules is set to continue through May 11, with final regulations expected in July.
Sources:
https://www.edaily.co.kr/News/Read?newsId=07160246645446624&mediaCodeNo=257&OutLnkChk=Y