South Korea is advancing plans for a 22% tax framework covering crypto staking and lending income, while airdrops and hard forks would be taxed only upon sale. The National Tax Service (NTS) has completed research on the scope and calculation methods for taxing virtual assets, providing greater clarity as pressure around crypto taxation intensifies. Meanwhile, the proposal has triggered a National Assembly review after a public petition surpassed 50,000 signatures.
According to sources, South Korea is actively working on its 22% tax on crypto staking and lending rewards on income exceeding the basic deduction. After the ₩2.5M ($1,800) basic deduction, crypto investors will face 20% base tax plus 2% local surcharge.
South Korea has one of the world’s most active crypto markets with millions of retail investors, especially younger demographics, but taxation has been delayed multiple times due to infrastructure gaps, political pushback, and fairness concerns. The government wants to treat crypto consistently with other income sources while recognizing its unique nature, including high volatility and DeFi complexities.
Research carried out by Changwon University’s Industry-Academic Cooperation Group, recommends classifying staking rewards, new coins received for locking assets on proof-of-stake networks such as Ethereum (ETH) or Solana (SOL), and lending interest earned on centralized or decentralized platforms as equivalent to “loans” or “rental/use income” under the existing Income Tax Act.
Furthermore, the research is intended to fill previous gaps in the tax code and will form the basis for updates to the Enforcement Decree of the Income Tax Act and official NTS guidance. It draws on K-IFRS accounting standards and international precedents to justify the changes. It proposes expanding the legal definition of “rental” income to cover the “use” of assets, enabling taxation of staking and lending yields as they are received.
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});Following the national petition to scrap the 22% crypto tax, which surpassed 50,000 signatures, just eight days after its launch, the National Assembly has formally referred the matter to the Finance and Economic Planning Committee for mandatory review. Under South Korean parliamentary rules, any petition reaching this threshold requires the relevant standing committee to deliberate and report its findings to the plenary session within 90 days.
Despite the mounting pressure, Moon Kyung-ho, Director of the Income Tax Division at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, reaffirmed that the tax regime will proceed as planned on January 1, 2027. The committee’s review, combined with the recent NTS research on taxing staking and lending rewards, now sets the stage for the next phase of political and regulatory discussion in the coming weeks.
Related: South Korea Confirms Crypto Tax Rollout Despite Growing Backlash
