South Korea Crypto News
South Korea's National Tax Service has launched a procurement bid for an AI-powered platform to track cryptocurrency transactions. The system is designed to detect tax evasion and support enforcement of the country's planned digital asset tax. The project is valued at approximately 3 billion Korean won, or around $2 million.
The platform will process large volumes of crypto trading data using artificial intelligence and machine learning. It will flag unusual transaction patterns that may indicate hidden income or unpaid taxes. The NTS plans to share suspected offender lists with the Korea Customs Service and the Bank of Korea.
According to The Korea Times, the tax authority plans to select a contractor by March. System design is expected to begin in April, with testing running throughout the year. A pilot program is scheduled for November, and the full system is expected to go live by late 2026.
South Korea plans to begin taxing cryptocurrency investment gains in January 2027. The policy applies a combined 22% levy, made up of a 20% income tax and a 2% local surcharge. The tax applies to annual gains exceeding 2.5 million won, or roughly $1,700.
The law behind this tax was passed in 2020 but has been delayed three times since then. In 2024, lawmakers debated whether to implement it in 2025 or push it back further. Industry opposition and disagreements over tax thresholds drove each postponement.
The NTS said the AI platform will give authorities a structured way to manage the growing volume of VirtualAsset data generated by South Korean investors. The agency has not disclosed how many taxpayers it expects the system to identify once it goes live.
The procurement bid marks a concrete step toward enforcement infrastructure ahead of the 2027 rollout. South Korea joins a growing list of governments building dedicated tools for CryptoTax compliance. The scale of the investment signals that the current timeline is intended to hold.