PANews reported on May 7th that, according to Edaily, Moon Kyung-ho, head of the Income Tax Division of the South Korean Ministry of Finance and Economy, stated at an emergency meeting to discuss the taxation of virtual assets that the government will proceed with its planned taxation of virtual assets starting January 1st next year. This marks the first public statement from the Ministry of Finance and Economy regarding the taxation of virtual assets.

Under the current income tax law, income from the transfer or lending of virtual assets will be classified as other income, and a 22% tax rate will apply to virtual asset income exceeding 2.5 million Korean won (20% for other income tax plus 2% for local income tax). The tax will apply to approximately 13.26 million investors. Moon, the section chief, revealed that the National Tax Service is drafting a related notice and has held multiple discussions with the five major virtual asset operators, with a legislative announcement expected soon.