Sources: South Korea is considering imposing an education tax on crypto CEXs.

Sources familiar with the matter disclosed that if centralized crypto exchanges (CEXs) are classified as financial institutions under the proposed digital assets bill, South Korea will consider imposing an education tax on them. The government has recently conveyed this position to heads of major crypto CEXs. A senior government official noted that if the exchanges are categorized under the financial insurance sector, the education tax will become applicable. Currently, crypto trading and brokerage services in South Korea are classified as information and communications services, and are exempt from the education tax. Banks, insurance companies, and securities firms pay the education tax based on their operating revenue: a 0.5% rate applies to the first 1 trillion won, and a 1% rate applies to revenue exceeding that threshold.