South Korea’s government is seeking to postpone planned taxation of cryptocurrency gains by about two years, pushing implementation to 2029, Finance Minister Lee Hyoung-il says. The move renews debate after multiple earlier delays. Lee says the government needs additional time to obtain overseas transaction data and refine tax rules, and that it will work with the National Assembly to pursue the postponement.
The coverage also highlights domestic political involvement in the decision. Korea Times reports Lee’s remarks come shortly after the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) asked for another delay, and that the government’s stance reverses within a short period after it had reiterated a commitment to proceed. Yonhap and CoinDesk similarly describe the ruling party’s push to delay, citing the need to wait for global tax-sharing rules and to factor in a broader digital assets legal framework.
Across outlets, the proposed tax structure remains consistent: under pending legislation, income from transferring or lending digital assets would be treated as miscellaneous income, with an allowance of 2.5 million won and a 22% tax rate (including local income tax) on net gains above the threshold.
