Korean exchanges ask for clear crypto tax rules before 2027

South Korea's crypto exchanges told the finance ministry on Tuesday that they need detailed guidelines and more preparation time before the country starts taxing crypto gains on Jan. 1, 2027. The closed-door meeting was hosted by First Vice Minister of Economy and Finance Kwon Dae-young, Yonhap reported. The government said it would review its preparations but did not announce a delay.

Who took part

The session was held at the Seoul regional office of the Public Procurement Service in Seocho-gu. According to The Herald Business, the attendees included:

• Exchange operators: Dunamu (Upbit), Bithumb, DigitalX (formerly Korbit), Coinone and Streami (Gopax), plus the exchanges' self-regulatory alliance DAXA.
• Research and legal experts: Tiger Research, professors from the University of Seoul, Sejong University and the Catholic University of Korea, and a lawyer from Bae, Kim & Lee.

The meeting had been flagged last week, when calls to delay the tax were growing.

What the industry asked for

• Clear rules for new products. Trading has become more varied and complex, operators said, so the tax needs detailed guidance by transaction type.
• Time to build systems. Exchanges want enough lead time to set up and test the systems that will send tax data to the authorities.
• A level field. They asked officials to study other countries' approaches and to make sure users of domestic platforms are not treated worse than people trading on overseas exchanges.

The experts added that staking needs explicit treatment, and suggested loss carry-forward and simpler filing. They also argued that the rules should reflect the digital asset framework law now being discussed, since the market has changed a lot since the tax was written in late 2020. Professor Park Hoon noted that the US, UK and Japan already tax crypto, while Korea has postponed three times.

The government's line

Kwon said the principle that "wherever there is income, there is tax" must be respected, but that it can only take root if tax infrastructure and market regulation are built together. He said the ministry would comprehensively review readiness, including cross-border information exchange, standards for specific transaction types and ease of filing, and coordinate with other ministries.

What's next

Under current law, gains above an annual 2.5 million won deduction will be taxed at a combined 22% from January. A ruling-party bill would tie the start to international crypto data sharing, which would push it toward 2029, and parliament's tax subcommittee is expected to debate the delay bills next month. Unclear areas such as staking rewards overlap with how proof-of-stake networks pay validators. Korea is not alone: France is also stuck mid-debate on a stablecoin swap tax.