[AKYUNG Poll] "Virtual Asset Tax Deferral, a Wrong Decision Influenced by Election Concerns" 46%

Majority of Young Adults in Their 20s and 30s Also View Decision as "Wrong"
They Seem to Feel Concern Over the Parliament Reversing Its Own Initial Agreement

[Sejong= Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] A majority of the public views the bipartisan agreement to postpone taxation on virtual assets as a "wrong decision made with election considerations." Notably, even among young adults in their 20s and 30s?who were expected to oppose the introduction of taxation itself?negative evaluations outnumbered positive ones. This appears to reflect concern over the parliament’s decision to overturn its initial agreement to implement taxation starting next year.

Regarding the parliament’s decision to postpone taxation on virtual assets such as Bitcoin for one year, 46.6% of respondents evaluated it as a "wrong decision made with election considerations." Meanwhile, 34.2% responded that it was a "good decision to activate related industries and prepare the taxation system," and 19.1% answered "don’t know."

Earlier this month, the ruling and opposition parties passed an amendment to the Income Tax Act at the National Assembly plenary session, postponing taxation on virtual assets by one year. Accordingly, the implementation of taxation was delayed from 2022 to 2023. Considering that investment income is reported every May for the previous year, the actual payment of taxes on virtual asset investment income is expected to occur in May 2024.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance, the relevant authority, had consistently announced taxation policies and prepared systems since 2017, about four years ago, and the National Assembly had also supported the introduction of taxation. However, ahead of the presidential election, politicians, mindful of voter sentiment, reversed their agreement and argued for postponement of taxation citing "insufficient preparation" as the reason. Leading presidential candidates from both ruling and opposition parties have expressed similar positions.

This survey drew attention to the perceptions of young adults in their 20s and 30s. When respondents were divided by age, 43.5% of those aged 18-29 answered that it was a "wrong decision," surpassing the 38.1% who said it was a "good decision." Among those in their 30s, the responses were similarly divided at 46.7% and 41.3%, respectively. These generations, known for actively investing in virtual assets, perceived the parliament’s decision negatively. This judgment appears to stem more from the reversal of existing principles and policies rather than the issue of taxation itself.

Among respondents in their 40s, 47.9% said it was a wrong decision, while 48.7% of those in their 50s and 46.3% of those aged 60 and above also responded similarly. By gender, 51.2% of men and 42.2% of women answered that it was a wrong decision, outnumbering those who thought it was a good decision (34.9% and 33.6%, respectively).

By region, except for Gwangju, Jeonbuk, and Jeonnam (where 48.1% said it was a good decision), all other regions showed a majority viewing it as a wrong decision. Particularly, Gangwon and Jeju (61.2%) and Daegu and Gyeongbuk (51.7%) had over half of respondents giving negative evaluations.

Editor's Note
How the Survey Was Conducted
This survey was conducted by Asia Economy through Win-G Korea Consulting targeting voters aged 18 and older nationwide on the 4th and 5th of this month, with 1,012 respondents and an overall response rate of 7.3%. The survey method was 100% wireless ARS using mobile phone virtual numbers. The sample was extracted with weighting by gender, age, and region based on the resident registration population as of the end of January 2021 from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (cell weighting). The sampling error is ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. For detailed survey information, please refer to the Win-G Korea Consulting website or the Central Election Survey Deliberation Commission website.