- Both dominant South Korean political parties have agreed to delay crypto taxes.
- The country's daily crypto trading volumes jumped by more than 60% in the first half of 2024.
South Korea’s Democratic Party has agreed to a two-year postponement of taxes on cryptocurrency trading profits.
This decision is a major policy reversal for the party, which had previously opposed such delays.
“We have decided to agree to a two-year moratorium on the implementation of cryptocurrency taxation proposed by the government and ruling party,” stated Democratic Party floor leader Park Chan-dae on Sunday.
The tax, initially scheduled to take effect in January, will now be deferred to the start of 2027 to allow the market additional time to adapt.
This shows a growing bipartisan caution against hastily implementing cryptocurrency taxation om South Korea.
Earlier this year, the ruling People Power Party proposed delaying the 20% tax on crypto profits until 2028, expressing concerns that steep taxes could drive investors away from the market.
The current tax framework imposes taxes on gains exceeding 2.5 million won, whereas stock trading profits are taxed only above 50 million won — a disparity that has been heavily criticised.
South Korea remains a key player in the global crypto market.
The Financial Services Commission revealed that in the first half of 2024, the country’s daily crypto trading volume soared 67% from the previous period to six trillion won.
Local media source Naver also reported that the number of domestic investors increased by 21%, reaching 7.78 million, with Bitcoin and Ethereum comprising the majority of holdings.
Kyle Baird is DL News’ Weekend Editor. Got a tip? Email at kbaird@dlnews.com.
