South Korea’s planned tax on virtual-asset transfer and lending income, due to start Jan. 1, 2027, is facing renewed political opposition after People Power Party floor leader Song Eon-seok called for its abolition. Song said crypto should receive tax treatment comparable to stocks and warned that taxing income from globally traded virtual assets could drive funds to overseas hubs including Singapore and Hong Kong. He also opposed putting higher-than-expected tax revenue into a future response fund, arguing that the government should instead reduce national debt and ease earned-income taxes. Song said national debt next year will reach 1,519.8 trillion won ($1.1 trillion), while tax revenue will increase by 194.2 trillion won ($140.3 billion) and debt will still rise by 106 trillion won ($76.6 billion). The proposed crypto regime would treat annual gains as separate other income, applying a 22% combined national and local tax rate after a 2.5 million-won deduction. Critics including Han Dong-hoon and industry groups have also sought a delay or revisions, focusing on the lack of multiyear loss carryforwards and unresolved systems for verifying acquisition costs and reporting transactions involving overseas exchanges and personal wallets. The government has said it intends to proceed, citing domestic exchange data and the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework for information on overseas platforms.