A South Korean lawmaker has argued that virtual-asset taxation should not move ahead until the government has fully addressed fairness, investor protection and the systems needed to enforce the rules.

Rep. Min Byung-deok of the Democratic Party said the tax framework should be introduced only after related infrastructure is in place. He also called for the tax regime to develop alongside investor-protection measures rather than separately.

Equal standards for domestic and overseas trades

Min said tax rules for virtual assets should apply equally to transactions conducted on domestic platforms and those carried out overseas. In his view, a credible system requires the same standards across both markets rather than a structure that treats one category of trading differently from another.

His remarks focused on tax fairness as a basic condition for implementation. He reiterated that the government should review that principle carefully before proceeding with the virtual-asset tax regime.

Questions over overseas data under CARF

A central issue raised by Min was how the government plans to obtain and use transaction data from outside South Korea. He said authorities need to clearly explain how they would secure overseas transaction information under the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework, or CARF, and how that information would be used for tax verification.

He also pointed to private wallets and overseas exchanges as areas where tax enforcement would depend on international information sharing. According to his comments, the government should spell out when overseas data could actually be obtained once taxation starts and how that process would work in practice.

Call to recognize losses and allow carryforwards

Min also argued for changes to the deduction system tied to virtual-asset investing. He said losses from crypto investments should be properly recognized within the tax framework rather than ignored.

He specifically called for loss carryforwards, indicating that investors should be able to offset eligible losses over time. That change, he suggested, should be pursued together with the broader design of the virtual-asset tax system.

Investor protection linked to tax rollout

Beyond tax mechanics, Min said investor-protection rules should move forward in parallel with taxation. He stressed that the tax regime and protective safeguards should advance together, not as separate policy tracks.

His position was that implementation should come only after the necessary systems and infrastructure are ready. The next confirmed step in the debate, based on his comments, is further government explanation of tax fairness, overseas data collection and verification, and the institutional groundwork needed before any rollout of virtual-asset taxation.

Source: en.bloomingbit.io