Han Dong-hoon Calls for at Least Two-Year Delay to Crypto Tax, Says Overseas Trading Data Must Come First

Former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon said South Korea should postpone a planned tax on virtual assets, due to take effect next year, by at least two years.

In a Facebook post on September 29, Han urged the government to move quickly on a decision to delay the tax. “There are only three months left until 2027,” he wrote.

Han cited differing national timelines for implementing the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework, or CARF, an automatic cross-border exchange system for crypto trading information, as a key reason for the delay. He said the United Arab Emirates and Seychelles, where overseas exchanges widely used by South Korean investors are based, along with Hong Kong and Singapore, would not be able to carry out their first information exchange until 2028. The United States would follow in 2029.

He argued that if South Korea introduces the tax first, investors may shift assets to overseas exchanges or decentralized finance services, where it is harder for tax authorities to gather information. A delay of at least two years, by contrast, would allow authorities to obtain trading records from domestic and foreign exchanges after major countries begin CARF information-sharing.

Han also said legal and regulatory preparations related to virtual assets should come first. He wrote that a two-year delay would provide time to pursue a second phase of virtual-asset legislation and argued that the legal nature of taxable crypto assets should be clearly defined before taxation begins.

He also raised the issue of tax fairness relative to other financial assets. Han said there had been insufficient discussion of key details, including how long investment losses on virtual assets could be carried forward to offset future gains. Announcing tax standards at year-end without enough prior debate could fuel investor backlash, he added.

Han renewed his call for a swift government decision, writing that a delay to virtual-asset taxation should be decided before it is too late.