PPP Floor Leader Chung Jomg-sik Calls for Review of Crypto Tax Timing, Citing Youth Burden

The People Power Party said South Korea should reconsider the timing of taxation on virtual assets, or cryptocurrencies. It warned that pressing ahead with the tax from next year would inevitably cause confusion because the taxation framework remains inadequate.

Chung Jomg-sik, floor leader of the People Power Party, made the remarks on September 21 at a National Assembly policy meeting on improving the digital-asset taxation system. “The principle of taxing income where it arises is important,” Chung said. “But we need to take another close and careful look at whether the institutions and systems needed to tax digital assets fairly and accurately are fully prepared.”

He stressed that concerns in the market remain. In transactions involving overseas exchanges or wallets, acquisition costs and transaction records can in some cases be difficult to verify accurately. It also remains unclear what standards should be used to reflect income and losses arising from new forms of trading.

Chung said many young people are participating in the digital-asset market at a time when finding jobs is difficult and buying a home on wage income alone is not easy. If taxation is rushed through without sufficient preparation while ignoring those realities, the resulting confusion and burden will inevitably fall on young investors, he said. He added that with the financial investment income tax already abolished, there is also a need to examine whether taxing virtual assets itself is consistent with fairness.

Chung said the timing of implementation should be reviewed. Institutional reforms surrounding the digital-asset industry are still under way, he said, and it is also necessary to examine whether it is appropriate to proceed with the tax schedule as planned when the industry’s institutional foundation is not yet fully in place.

“Taxation is directly tied to the public’s assets,” Chung said. “What the government must do is not simply collect taxes on a preset date, but establish standards that are predictable and fair for everyone and prepare sufficiently so they can be properly enforced in practice.”