More than 52,000 South Korean citizens have signed a petition demanding the government scrap its planned cryptocurrency tax, clearing the threshold that forces the country’s parliament to formally review the issue.
The petition crossed the 50,000-signature mark on May 21, 2026, roughly eight days after it was launched. Under South Korea’s petition system, that number triggers a mandatory referral to the Finance and Economic Planning Committee for formal consideration. In English: lawmakers now have to sit down and actually talk about this, whether they want to or not.
What the tax looks like, and why people hate it
The proposed levy is a 22% tax on cryptocurrency gains, broken down into 20% national income tax and 2% local tax. It would apply to annual profits exceeding 2.5 million Korean won, which works out to roughly $1,650 to $2,200 depending on exchange rates.
That exemption threshold is where the anger really starts. For traditional financial assets like stocks, the exemption sits at around 50 million won, roughly 20 times higher than the proposed crypto threshold. So a stock trader can pocket significantly more profit tax-free than someone trading Bitcoin. The petition’s signatories have a point when they call the disparity unfair.
