South Korea’s Democratic Party says taxation of virtual-asset income should begin in January under the existing timetable, signaling support for moving ahead after multiple delays.

The stance was outlined during a parliamentary audit by Oh Gi-hyoung, who argued that the National Assembly should not abruptly change course after legislation and repeated postponements had already shaped public expectations around the measure.

Party backs existing timetable

According to the source report, the government is prepared to implement the virtual-asset tax under the current schedule. The Democratic Party said the plan to begin taxation next year should proceed as planned rather than be pushed back again.

Oh Gi-hyoung said the public had formed expectations and trust based on the National Assembly’s decisions and legislation concerning virtual-asset taxation. In that context, he said it would be inappropriate to suddenly reverse the plan to start taxing crypto from next year.

Argument against another delay

Oh said the tax measure had already been postponed three times through bipartisan agreement. He framed those earlier delays as temporary steps rather than a cancellation of the policy.

He added that the National Assembly’s intent had been to enforce the tax as soon as the reasons for postponement were resolved and the necessary preparations were complete. On that basis, the Democratic Party’s position is that another last-minute change would conflict with the direction previously set by lawmakers.

How the tax is set to work

Under South Korea’s current Income Tax Act, income from the transfer or lending of virtual assets from January 1 will be treated as miscellaneous income.

Annual gains above 2.5 million won, or about $1,810 based on the figure cited in the source, would be subject to a combined 22% tax rate. That total consists of a 20% miscellaneous income tax and a 2% local income tax.

What comes next

For now, the confirmed framework remains the one already written into law: taxation of qualifying virtual-asset income is scheduled to start on January 1. The immediate next step is whether authorities proceed with implementation on that basis, as the government is said to be prepared to do.

The key point from the latest remarks is not a new tax proposal, but political support within the Democratic Party for enforcing the existing law on schedule after three previous postponements.

Source: en.bloomingbit.io