South Korea's 22% Crypto Tax Sparks Fresh Opposition Ahead of 2027 Deadline

A South Korean politician is pushing for the cancellation of the proposed 22% cryptocurrency tax scheduled to take effect in January 2027. Park Soo-young, a member of the People Power Party, claims that the tax unfairly targets around 13 million digital asset holders in South Korea.

The current taxation plan categorizes income from virtual asset transactions and lending activities under miscellaneous income and subjects profits exceeding 2.5 million won to a 20% federal tax combined with a 2% municipal charge.

Park Soo-young argues that implementing this tax structure may accelerate capital movement towards international cryptocurrency platforms, potentially leading to the transfer of assets to private storage solutions or foreign markets.

The politician also criticized the limitation on loss carryforward provisions, which prohibits market participants from deducting historical losses against subsequent profitable transactions. He believes this framework discriminates against digital assets compared to traditional investment vehicles.