Kim Sang-hoon Moves to Delay South Korea's 22% Bitcoin (BTC) Tax to 2029
Key Takeaways
- •South Korean lawmaker Kim Sang-hoon of the opposition People Power Party has called for postponing the digital asset income tax by two years, moving its start date from January 2027 to 2029.
- •Kim, who chairs the People Power Party's special committee on stock and digital asset value-up, conveyed his position in written remarks at the Block Festa 2026 conference in Seoul.
- •The levy is a 22% tax on digital asset income, comprising a 20% national income tax and a 2% local surtax, applied to gains exceeding an annual basic deduction of 2.5 million won.
- •The tax has delayed multiple times since its inception, with its start date pushed from January 2022 to January 2023, then to January 2025, and subsequently to January 2027.
- •A shift to 2029 would require enactment through the National Assembly's legislative process, leaving January 2027 as the levy's current scheduled effective date.
A South Korean lawmaker is moving to postpone the country's digital asset income tax by a further two years — a step that would push the levy, currently scheduled to take effect in January 2027, back to 2029.
Kim Sang-hoon of the opposition People Power Party, who chairs the party's special committee on stock and digital asset value-up, delivered his remarks in written form at the Block Festa 2026 conference at IFC The Forum in Seoul, according to a report published by COINOTAG on Oct. 1, 2026.
The levy in question is a 22% tax on digital asset income, commonly described in Korean policy discussions as a 20% national income tax combined with a 2% local surtax, applied to gains above an annual basic deduction of 2.5 million won. Bitcoin (BTC) and other virtual assets fall within its scope. Because the levy has not yet taken effect, a further postponement would keep digital asset income outside this particular tax for two additional years beyond the currently scheduled start date.
A Repeatedly Postponed Levy
South Korea's digital asset income tax has been delayed repeatedly since its inception. The levy was originally scheduled to begin in January 2022, then postponed to January 2023, later pushed back to January 2025, and subsequently deferred again to January 2027. Each postponement has followed debate over market readiness, investor protection, and the appropriate treatment of virtual asset gains relative to income from equities and other financial products. Kim's own policy remit bridges both sides of that debate, as the committee he chairs covers equities and digital assets alike. For the start date to move to 2029, the postponement would need to be enacted through the National Assembly's legislative process; until then, January 2027 remains the levy's scheduled effective date.
Party and Venue
The People Power Party is the main conservative opposition bloc in South Korea's National Assembly, and its special committee on stock and digital asset value-up handles policy work on equities and digital assets. Block Festa, held annually in Seoul, is among South Korea's largest blockchain and digital asset conferences, bringing together policymakers, industry executives, and researchers.
This content was first published on COINOTAG: https://en.coinotag.com/kim-sang-hoon-bitcoin-tax-delay-2029
