Ahead of Virtual-Asset Taxation Set for January Next Year, 82.9% of Investors Say “Delay or Oppose”

[Financial News] With taxation on virtual-asset income scheduled to take effect in January next year, more than eight in 10 domestic investors said they opposed implementing the current tax plan as is or believed an additional delay was necessary. Concerns were greater that institutional preparations, including tracking transaction records and calculating acquisition costs, were insufficient than concerns about taxation itself.

According to a survey of about 2,400 domestic virtual-asset investors conducted by Tiger Research on the 25th, 73.7% opposed virtual-asset taxation. Of these, 51.5% said they could accept taxation if the system were sufficiently improved. Even among investors who agreed that taxation was necessary, 74.5% said the system should be delayed or improved rather than implemented as is.
Concerns were also high that preparations for taxation were insufficient. Some 66.4% of respondents said administrative and information-technology systems had not been adequately established, while 65.7% said it would be difficult to accurately track transaction records from domestic and overseas exchanges as well as personal wallets.
Investors who opposed implementing the current tax plan as scheduled in 2027 or believed that an additional delay was necessary accounted for 82.9%. Some 73.1% said they were likely to reduce their use of domestic exchanges if taxation took effect, while 68.1% said they were likely to increase their use of global exchanges.

Meanwhile, under the current Income Tax Act, other income tax will be imposed from January 1, 2027, on income earned from the transfer or lending of virtual assets. A 20% income tax will apply to annual virtual-asset income after deducting KRW 2.5 million. The rate, including local income tax, is 22%.


[email protected] Han Seung-gon Reporter