South Korean Ministry of Finance: Tokenized stocks are considered securities rather than virtual assets, with taxation expected to begin as early as the second half of the year

According to a report by Bloomvingbit, the South Korean Ministry of Finance and Economy stated that tokenized stocks are considered securities rather than virtual assets. If the Financial Services Commission confirms their securities nature, taxes can be imposed immediately under the current Capital Markets Act, potentially as early as the second half of this year. Officials from the Ministry of Finance pointed out that although tokenized stocks are formally virtual assets, they are essentially closer to securities.

The Financial Services Commission has previously clarified in its token securities guidelines that token securities are securities issued in the form of digital assets and fall under the jurisdiction of the Capital Markets Act. Currently, the market generally believes that tokenized stocks are classified as virtual assets (non-taxable assets) and can enjoy tax exemption until the implementation of virtual asset taxation next year. However, the Ministry of Finance emphasizes its stance on taxation and is establishing an information exchange system with overseas tax authorities such as the IRS. Offshore transactions on overseas platforms are also included in the taxation scope; regardless of where they are issued, as long as the economic value and rights structure essentially belong to securities, they can be subject to dividend income tax.