A report from the National Tax Service (NTS) reveals that virtual assets now constitute over two-thirds of the value held in registered overseas accounts following their inclusion in assets subject to mandatory registration. Out of a total of 186.4 trillion won ($98.3 billion) in registered external financial assets, 130.8 trillion won is attributed to virtual asset holdings. This change is due to a revision in tax law in 2021, making virtual assets subject to reporting for the first time this year. Virtual assets encompass electronic certificates with economic value that can be traded or transferred electronically. The total reported asset value nearly tripled from 64 trillion won in 2022 to 186.4 trillion won in 2023, marking the highest figure since the enforcement of foreign financial asset registration in 2011.

In 2023, 73 corporations reported foreign virtual assets valued at 120.4 trillion won, primarily cryptocurrency publishers reporting retained crypto assets held abroad. The remaining 10.4 trillion won was reported by 1,359 individuals, with an average holding of 7.66 billion won per person. Individuals in their 30s or younger held an average of around 10 billion won in virtual assets per person, comprising 51.8 percent of registered foreign virtual assets. Virtual assets constituted the largest share of reported total assets held in overseas financial accounts, followed by equities at 12.6 percent (23.4 trillion won) and deposits and savings at 12.3 percent (22.9 trillion won).

In total, 5,419 residents and companies reported assets held in overseas financial accounts, with 4,565 individuals owning a combined 24.3 trillion won. Corporations reported foreign financial assets worth 162.1 trillion won, marking a significant 289.7 percent increase in value compared to the previous year. Excluding virtual assets, the value of other types of assets held in overseas financial accounts dropped by 8.4 trillion won, primarily due to a decrease of 11.6 trillion won in equity holdings related to the global stock market decline in 2022.

Apart from virtual assets, most foreign financial assets were reported to be held in the United States, with the highest amount of savings and equity held there. However, the largest amount of derivatives was reported from the UK, with other top countries including Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan for both individual and corporate holdings.

It's important to note that in Korea, tax on gains from virtual assets has been deferred until January 2025, despite an earlier slated start date, and has not yet been enforced.