Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Income Tax Act

Proposed by Rep. Song Eon-seog (People Power Party)

● Under the current Act, income from the transfer or lease of virtual assets will be classified as “other income” and be subject to taxation from January 1, 2025. This aims to achieve tax parity between physical assets, such as cash and real estate, and virtual assets, such as cryptocurrency. However, given the deteriorating sentiment towards investment in virtual assets due to their high-risk nature, notably having a greater possibility of loss compared to stocks, a majority of investors are expected to leave the market if an income tax is imposed on virtual assets. Accordingly, there are opinions that hastily imposing taxation on virtual assets at this time is not desirable. Therefore, this amendment aims to defer the enforcement date of taxation on virtual asset income scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2025, by three years to January 1, 2028.

Proposed Bill: Partial Amendment to the Act on Restriction on Special Cases Concerning Taxation

Proposed by Rep. Hwang Jung-a (Democratic Party of Korea)

● To encourage corporate investment in R&D and HR Development, this bill proposes to expand tax credits in these areas by extending the expiration date and raising tax deduction rates.

Pending Bill: Partial Amendment to the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act

Proposed by Rep. Lee Yong-woo (Democratic Party of Korea), Rep. Shin Chang-sik (Rebuilding Korea Party), and Rep. Yoon Jong-o (Progressive Party)

● This amendment aims to guarantee the three constitutional labor rights for all workers by including non-regular workers in the definition of workers and ensuring the subject and scope of liability exemptions for industrial actions align with the Constitution.

Promulgated Bill: Special Act on Future Automotive Parts Transition and Ecosystem Development

Competent Authority: Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

● This bill aims to bolster the competitiveness of the domestic future automotive parts industry supply chain by establishing grounds for the support and promotion of the industry.

Administrative Announcement: Partial Amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce

Competent Authority: Fair Trade Commission

● This amendment regulates online deceptive practices known as “dark patterns” by specifying the advance notice and consent period required to increase the amount of a recurring payment or transition to a paid subscription.

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The Korea Herald republishes a weekly legislative report by local law firm DR & AJU LLC to provide the latest information on bills approved, proposed, pending and set to be promulgated. -- Ed.

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For any queries about the bills, contact cr@draju.com.