A South Korean lawmaker has called for the country to postpone its planned virtual-asset tax rollout, arguing that taxation should not begin before the industry has a clearer legal and institutional foundation.
At a forum on November 2, Rep. Park Min-kyu said the Digital Asset Framework Act should be passed quickly ahead of any tax implementation. He warned that launching the tax in January next year, while the domestic digital-asset market still lacks a sufficiently developed framework, could damage the sector and create uneven burdens for investors.
Call to delay January tax start
Park’s central argument was that South Korea should sequence regulation before taxation. In his view, the government should first put in place the rules and systems needed to support the domestic virtual-asset industry and protect investors, then move ahead with taxation.
He specifically urged swift passage of the Digital Asset Framework Act, describing it as an urgent legislative priority. He also called for the timing of the planned tax rollout to be reconsidered.
Concerns over foreign-exchange oversight
A key part of Park’s criticism focused on the authorities’ ability to gather information on virtual-asset trading conducted through overseas exchanges. He said shortcomings in that system could create practical problems once taxation begins.
According to Park, if regulators and tax authorities are unable to properly track trading records from foreign platforms, investors who use domestic exchanges could end up bearing a disproportionate share of the tax burden. That, he suggested, would raise fairness concerns at the moment the tax takes effect.
Risk of pushing activity offshore
Park also argued that a rushed rollout could change investor behavior in ways that hurt the local market. If taxation starts before oversight and the broader legal framework are ready, he warned, some domestic investors may shift more of their activity to overseas platforms.
He said that outcome could shrink South Korea’s domestic virtual-asset market over time. In turn, he warned, it could also weaken the government’s tax base rather than strengthen it, undermining one of the policy goals behind introducing the tax.
What comes next
The immediate issue raised at the forum is whether the planned January start for virtual-asset taxation should go ahead as scheduled or be delayed until the legal framework is more fully established.
For Park, the next confirmed step is legislative rather than technical: prompt enactment of the Digital Asset Framework Act. His comments frame the debate around whether investor protection, market structure and enforcement capacity should be settled first before South Korea begins taxing virtual-asset activity.
Source: en.bloomingbit.io