South Korea's government appears set to delay taxation of crypto income again, roughly two months before the scheduled January start, News1 reported. Officials are wary that forcing the tax through could fuel pushback from young investors, a core group in the crypto market, at a time when a stock market slump has already soured public sentiment toward asset markets.

A Presidential Office official said the government is discussing a postponement, citing "consideration of the voices of young people, including respect for their asset ladder." Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok said on the 22nd that it was time to reach a conclusion on whether to tax as planned or shore up the system. Party lawmaker Park Min-gyu introduced a bill on the 16th to push the start date back to 2029.

Finance Minister Lee Hyung-il sounded more cautious at a parliamentary audit on the 22nd. "We will hear more opinions from experts and the industry, and since views have also been raised in the National Assembly, we will deliberate as carefully as possible," he said. That is a step back from his stance at last month's confirmation hearing, where he called a January 2027 start desirable.

The tax was originally due to take effect in January 2022 under a December 2020 amendment to the income tax law. Gains from transferring or lending crypto above a 2.5 million won basic deduction would be taxed at 22%, including local tax. Implementation has been pushed back three times, to January 2023, 2025 and 2027, as the market slumped and retail investors argued for parity with domestic stocks, where small shareholders pay no capital gains tax. Shelving the planned financial investment income tax on stocks only intensified the backlash.

Industry players argue the framework isn't ready. Trades on overseas exchanges are hard to capture for tax purposes, which could encourage offshore trading, while tax treatment for different transaction types remains unclear. Exchanges say they need more time to build and verify systems for submitting tax data to authorities.

Officials may also align the start date with the OECD's Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), which the United States joins in 2029. Under CARF, member countries exchange annual crypto transaction data to curb offshore tax evasion.