TechFlow News, March 19: According to The Block, South Korea’s largest opposition party, the People Power Party, submitted a bill to the National Assembly seeking to fully abolish the planned cryptocurrency gains tax scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027. The bill was spearheaded by Song Eon-seok, the party’s floor leader.
Under the current tax framework, South Korea plans to impose a maximum tax rate of 22%—comprising a 20% national income tax and a 2% local tax—on cryptocurrency trading profits exceeding 2.5 million Korean won (approximately $1,665). This tax plan has been postponed three times since its introduction in 2022.
The bill’s central argument rests on tax fairness. At the end of 2024, South Korea abolished income tax on investment gains from traditional financial assets such as stocks. The bill’s proponents argue that singling out cryptocurrency investors for taxation is unfair. The bill also cites recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) guidance classifying most cryptocurrencies as commodities, asserting that cryptocurrencies should not be treated equivalently to securities.
