▲ Kwon Chil-seung, policy committee chief of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Rep. Cho Seung-rae, chairman of the National Assembly's Finance, Economy, and Planning Committee, pose for a photo at a meeting with virtual asset service providers co-hosted by the party's policy committee and committee members at the National Assembly Members' Hall on October 30.
The Democratic Party of Korea is expected to decide within one to two weeks whether to implement or defer taxation on virtual assets scheduled for January next year.
Representative Oh Gi-hyoung, the ruling party's ranking member on the National Assembly's Finance, Economy, and Planning Committee, met with reporters today (October 30) after a meeting at the National Assembly attended by the party's policy committee, committee members, and crypto exchanges, stating, "Ultimately, we must decide (whether to defer it) within one to two weeks."
Representative Oh explained, "Because the Finance, Economy, and Planning Committee will activate its tax subcommittee in November, if we are to defer it, the bill must be processed by late November," adding, "Before that, we need to review social issues and conclude everything within one to two weeks."
This is interpreted to mean that the party must soon formulate its position on whether to impose taxes, counting backward from the timing of the passage of tax revision bills related to next year's budget.
During the meeting, the industry requested a tax deferral, citing differences between the virtual asset markets in South Korea and overseas.
Representative Oh conveyed, "(The industry) points out that there are many individual investors in Korea and almost no foreign investors," adding, "They noted that in the United States, corporations manage the market and also trade derivatives."
He continued, "We heard concerns about institutional changes for virtual assets, which are still in their early stages industrially," mentioning, "They asked to defer taxation, and we will see whether that is persuasive."
He also stated, "There were also discussions that, in the case of Korean won stablecoins and U.S. dollar stablecoins, these were circumstances (details) that had not been sorted out when the 2020 (taxation) legislation was introduced."
From the party, Policy Committee Chief Kwon Chil-seung, Rep. Cho Seung-rae, chairman of the Finance, Economy, and Planning Committee, and ruling party members of the committee attended the meeting.
From the industry, representatives from the top five crypto exchanges were present, including Kim Jae-jin, executive vice chairman of the Digital Asset eXchange Alliance (DAXA); Oh Kyoung-suk, CEO of Dunamu; Kim Na-young, CEO of Streami; Kim Tae-yoon, vice president of Bithumb; Kang Mingyu, director at Coinone; and Jin Myeong-gu, head of external policy at Digital X.
In his opening remarks at the meeting, Policy Committee Chief Kwon emphasized, "Leaving market uncertainty unaddressed any longer will impose significant costs on both the market and investors," adding, "We will swiftly finalize the party's stance."
Earlier, Rep. Min Byung-dug of the National Assembly's National Policy Committee held a seminar at the National Assembly titled "2027 Virtual Asset Tax Deferral, When Should It Be Implemented?" and stressed, "At the very least, taxes should be implemented only after the Digital Asset Basic Act for basic market order and investor protection is passed, and the necessary systems and infrastructure for taxation are established."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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