According to the Kyunghyang Shinmun, the Ministry of Economy and Finance held an on-site meeting on the 20th at the Seoul regional procurement office, chaired by First Vice Minister Kwon Dae-young. Financial Services Commission officials, exchange chiefs and executives of the DAXA exchange council attended. Kwon said the tax principle should be respected but the system carefully designed in light of market changes and trading characteristics.

Exchanges asked for time to build and test tax-data reporting systems and for consideration of fairness toward users of overseas exchanges. Asia Today reported that the National Tax Service told the parliamentary audit on the 13th it was preparing to issue detailed rules around November, while some exchanges said they could not start development until standards are set and have put work on hold or remain at an early stage.

A delay bill from the ruling party too

Democratic Party lawmaker Park Min-kyu on the 16th filed an income tax act amendment to impose the tax two years after the year in which cross-border crypto transaction data is first exchanged. The Kyunghyang Shinmun said 12 Democratic lawmakers and one Rebuilding Korea Party lawmaker co-signed. If Korea’s first exchange is in 2027, taxation would slip to January 1, 2029.

As compiled by Etoday, the People Power Party has already filed several bills: Kim Sang-hoon proposes January 1, 2029; Jung Sung-kuk and Kim Jae-seop propose January 1, 2030; and Song Eon-seok would delete the taxing provision. The current system applies a 22 percent rate, including local tax, after a 2.5 million won annual deduction.

Government stance and points of contention

The Kyunghyang Shinmun reported that Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hyung-il said in September confirmation hearings and elsewhere that the tax would proceed as planned, but in the October audit said he would broadly hear experts and industry, prompting speculation that the stance has shifted. No report confirmed that the government has decided to delay.

Critics disagree. A research professor cited by the paper said that if every system must be ready first, taxation could never begin, noting Japan refined its rules while implementing. The tax policy was set in late 2020 and has been postponed three times, so another delay would erode policy credibility. The industry, for its part, says acquisition costs on overseas exchanges and personal wallets are hard to capture.