Vice Prime Minister and Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance Lee Hyung-il stated regarding virtual asset taxation, "We will broadly gather opinions from various stakeholders, including experts and industry players, as well as the diverse views raised in the National Assembly."
Vice Prime Minister Lee responded this way when questioned by People Power Party lawmaker Kim Sang-hoon during the National Assembly's Fiscal and Economic Planning Committee's national audit of the Ministry of Economy and Finance on the 6th.
"If taxation is implemented as scheduled starting in 2027, we are only four months away, yet according to the National Tax Service's response, there is currently no infrastructure to track and verify transaction records for overseas decentralized exchanges (DEX), peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions, or DeFi-based transactions that are not domestic centralized exchanges (CEX) registered with the FIU (Financial Intelligence Unit)," Kim (Rep.) pointed out.
He stated, "The infrastructure necessary for taxation has not yet been established," adding, "Funds are flowing heavily out of the domestic virtual asset market to overseas. I believe that imposing taxes under these circumstances will be a dagger that hinders the revitalization of the virtual asset market."
In response, Vice Prime Minister Lee answered, "To implement taxation, we must first accept tax filings, and according to the regulations, filings are required starting next year," adding, "At this point, we can only estimate based on current holding status, but considering basic deductions and other factors, there are various aspects to consider."
"Kim (Rep.) also expressed concerns about capital outflow. According to Kim (Rep.), net fund inflows to the top five exchanges have decreased by approximately 56% compared to 2025. Net funds flowing overseas from January to August increased by 74%, indicating that the virtual asset market is in a severe downturn."
"From the perspective of domestic investors in the virtual asset market, there is sufficient possibility they may move their investments to the U.S. market," Kim (Rep.) stated. "Investment companies within the country have ample potential to seek means of tax avoidance by moving to the U.S. or other overseas markets."
"Since you have expressed a stance on gathering opinions from various places, including the National Assembly, I believe it would be best to make a careful judgment," Kim (Rep.) said. In response, Vice Prime Minister Lee answered, "We will keep that in mind when making our decision."
in ECONOMY
