South Korea Faces Renewed Calls to Delay 22% Crypto Tax

South Korea is facing fresh pressure to postpone its planned cryptocurrency tax, with investors and industry participants calling for more time to prepare while the government maintains that the levy will take effect as scheduled.

The country plans to introduce a 22% effective tax rate on annual cryptocurrency gains above 2.5 million won ($1,856) from Jan. 1, 2027. The rate includes a 20% national tax and a 2% local tax. It would apply to income from selling, transferring and lending digital assets.

The tax has already been delayed three times since it was first discussed in 2022. However, concerns over the country's tax infrastructure and the structure of its crypto market have renewed calls for another postponement.

A petition seeking to push the tax back by two years recently collected 50,000 verified signatures through South Korea's National Assembly electronic petition system. Reaching that threshold within 30 days sends the proposal to the relevant standing committee for review.

The petitioner argued that introducing the tax now would place additional pressure on investors and the wider crypto industry.

“Most crypto investors are sitting on heavy losses; major Korean crypto firms are seeing operating profits fall by as much as 90%; and the whole industry is in the red,” the anonymous petitioner wrote in a translated statement.

The petition also claimed that taxing crypto gains at this stage could hurt younger investors and reduce opportunities to build wealth. It warned that investors might move to overseas platforms to avoid the tax, while market volatility could limit the amount of revenue collected by the government.

The latest petition follows an earlier effort to scrap the planned crypto tax altogether. That proposal reached the 50,000-signature requirement just eight days after being submitted in May. Although it was referred to a committee, no further action followed.

The government, meanwhile, has shown little sign of changing course.

Lee Hyoung-Il, nominee for South Korea's Minister of Economy and Finance, said over the weekend that the cryptocurrency tax remains on schedule. According to Yonhap News Agency, he also said the National Tax Service will release detailed tax standards later this year.

The latest petition means lawmakers will have to review the request for a delay, but it does not guarantee that the tax will be postponed. Unless the government or National Assembly changes the plan, South Korean crypto investors will face the 22% levy from January 2027.