South Korea Petition Repeal Crypto Tax Clears 50,000 Signatures, Heads to National Assembly

A South Korea petition demanding the repeal of cryptocurrency taxation advanced to the National Assembly’s agenda for deliberation after it secured more than 50,000 signatures within eight days on the National Assembly’s electronic petition board.

“PiCK South Korea Petition to Abolish Crypto Tax Clears 50,000-Signature Threshold for National Assembly Review Forecast Trend Report by Period A public petition to South Korea’s National Assembly calling for the abolition of taxes on virtual assets, or cryptocurrencies, has surpassed 50,000 signatures, meeting the threshold for referral to a relevant parliamentary standing committee”

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The petition, titled "Petition on the Repeal of Virtual Asset Taxation," was set to be sent to the Strategy and Finance Committee for review before a decision on whether to bring it to a plenary session, after it met the requirement for referral to a standing committee.

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The dispute centers on a tax regime under which cryptocurrency profits exceeding 2.5 million won annually will be subject to a 22 percent tax rate, including local taxes, while domestic stocks are not subject to capital gains tax for ordinary investors who are not major shareholders.

The petition’s authors argued, "While the financial investment income tax on stocks is being abolished and tax burdens eased, applying separate taxation only to cryptocurrency is unreasonable," and added, "The current system requires not mere supplementation but a full review."

The Korea Times reported that under the current tax law, gains from the transfer or lending of virtual assets will become taxable starting Jan. 1, 2027, with profits exceeding 2.5 million won taxed at 22 percent, including local taxes, and the first filings scheduled for May 2028.

The petition’s momentum has been framed as investor backlash against the planned rollout, with the Korea Times saying the measure is facing growing backlash from crypto investors who warn the measure could weaken Korea's digital asset market.

The Korea Times also reported that a petition calling for the abolition of the planned crypto tax had gathered more than 45,000 signatures as of 3 p.m., Wednesday, after being posted on May 13, and that if the number surpasses 50,000 by June 12 it will be referred to a parliamentary committee for review.

Cointelegraph

In a translated statement included with the petition, Cointelegraph quoted the authors warning that "If taxation is enforced in order to secure short-term tax revenues, it is likely to lead to greater losses in the long term, namely, a contraction of industry and an outflow of capital and talent abroad."

The Seoul Economic Daily added that Oh Moon-sung, professor of tax accounting at Hanyang Women's University and chairman of the Korean Tax Policy Association, said, "Ultimately, criticism is bound to arise that the government is only catching investors it can identify through domestic exchanges — the so-called 'fish in a fishbowl.'"

The same Seoul Economic Daily report said critics also point to unclear standards for staking, airdrops, and decentralized finance (DeFi), and noted that the United States is set to join the global Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) in 2029.

Beyond the tax itself, the petition and related coverage tie the policy fight to broader regulatory tightening, including proposed anti-money laundering and know-your-customer controls that critics say will drive investors away.

“South Korean government faces pressure as crypto tax petition surpasses 52,000 signatures A petition demanding the abolition of South Korea's planned 20% tax on virtual asset gains has cleared the threshold for mandatory parliamentary review, pitting retail investors against a government that refuses to blink”

Crypto Briefing

TradingView reported that in March, South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) proposed that all crypto transactions above 10 million won ($6,630) sent to or from foreign crypto wallets should be automatically flagged as suspicious.

TradingView said crypto industry advocacy organizations pushed back against the new rules, arguing that the reporting requirements would create an operational burden for exchanges, while the petition also argued that taxing crypto gains at 22% while other asset classes receive preferential treatment undermines South Korea’s share of the crypto market.

The Seoul Economic Daily described a further concern about enforcement and information-sharing, quoting Oh Moon-sung saying, "Even among CARF member countries, including the United States, there is no guarantee that information sharing will actually proceed smoothly."

The Korea Times reported that despite mounting backlash, the government appears set to proceed with the taxation plan as scheduled, and said local media reports suggest the Ministry of Finance and Economy decided not to include another delay to the digital asset tax in its tax revision proposal to be announced in July.