Key Takeaways
- • Young cryptocurrency investors will hold a press conference at South Korea's National Assembly on October 21 to urge a two-year delay of the virtual-asset tax, which is scheduled to take effect in January.
- • The group is calling for the start date to be pushed back to January 2029, citing unfinished detailed tax standards, incomplete tax systems at exchanges, the absence of a loss carryforward mechanism, and limited access to transaction data from overseas exchanges.
- • A public petition led by Telegram channel operator Cho Sang-hyuk has exceeded 50,000 signatures, meeting the threshold for referral to the relevant standing committee.
- • Ruling People Power Party Rep. Park Soo-young supports the investors' concerns, and the party adopted abolition of virtual-asset taxation as its official position in March.
- • The National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee will examine the tax during a comprehensive audit of the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the National Tax Service on October 22.
Summary
Young cryptocurrency investors plan to hold a press conference at South Korea's National Assembly on October 21 to request another delay to the virtual-asset tax regime, according to Edaily, which reported that the event will begin at 1:30 p.m. in the Assembly's communication hall. Six investors are participating, including Cho Sang-hyuk, who runs the Telegram channel "Bull Ant CRYPTO" with about 30,000 subscribers, alongside Kim Hee-sang, Jeong Da-woon, Cho Gyeong-chan, Ha Heon-jung and Han Seung-min. The event will be attended by Rep. Park Soo-young of the ruling People Power Party. It will be the first press conference at the Assembly by young investors calling for a delay to the tax.
The press conference is linked to a National Assembly public petition, led by Cho, seeking a two-year postponement of virtual-asset taxation. The petition has drawn more than 50,000 signatures, meeting the threshold for referral to the relevant standing committee. Cho has previously staged truck protests and one-person demonstrations near the National Assembly, major party headquarters and Seoul's Sangam-dong broadcasting district. With roughly two months remaining before the tax takes effect, the investors contend that detailed taxation standards and exchanges' tax-related systems are not fully in place. They propose moving the start date to January 2029 to allow time to overhaul the standards and build and test the necessary systems.
The investors also highlight the lack of a loss carryforward system, which would allow investment losses to be deducted in future tax years, and limits on obtaining transaction data from users of overseas exchanges. Political concern has run in parallel. The People Power Party adopted abolition of virtual-asset taxation as its official position in March. Park argues it would be inequitable to tax only virtual-asset investment income after the financial investment income tax was abolished. He has also cited uncertainty over taxable assets, expected tax revenue and detailed standards, and incomplete tax systems at South Korea's five major exchanges. He warned that implementing the tax without a loss carryforward mechanism could unreasonably increase investors' tax burden and harm the domestic virtual-asset market.
Separately, the National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee is scheduled to examine virtual-asset taxation on October 22 during a comprehensive audit of the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the National Tax Service.
The press conference is linked to a National Assembly public petition, led by Cho, seeking a two-year postponement of virtual-asset taxation. The petition has drawn more than 50,000 signatures, meeting the threshold for referral to the relevant standing committee. Cho has previously staged truck protests and one-person demonstrations near the National Assembly, major party headquarters and Seoul's Sangam-dong broadcasting district. With roughly two months remaining before the tax takes effect, the investors contend that detailed taxation standards and exchanges' tax-related systems are not fully in place. They propose moving the start date to January 2029 to allow time to overhaul the standards and build and test the necessary systems.
The investors also highlight the lack of a loss carryforward system, which would allow investment losses to be deducted in future tax years, and limits on obtaining transaction data from users of overseas exchanges. Political concern has run in parallel. The People Power Party adopted abolition of virtual-asset taxation as its official position in March. Park argues it would be inequitable to tax only virtual-asset investment income after the financial investment income tax was abolished. He has also cited uncertainty over taxable assets, expected tax revenue and detailed standards, and incomplete tax systems at South Korea's five major exchanges. He warned that implementing the tax without a loss carryforward mechanism could unreasonably increase investors' tax burden and harm the domestic virtual-asset market.
Separately, the National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee is scheduled to examine virtual-asset taxation on October 22 during a comprehensive audit of the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the National Tax Service.
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