Gold and jewellery were both trending in Korean search this morning. I am not going to tell you where the price is heading — that number changes by the hour and I cannot predict it. What I can do is read the part that does not change: in Korea, the same gold is taxed differently depending on where you buy it, and the rule is written down in statute. I checked the Value-Added Tax Act, the Restriction of Special Taxation Act with its Enforcement Decree, and the Income Tax Act on the National Law Information Center.
One thing first, because it saves confusion: none of this turns on your nationality or your visa. VAT attaches to the goods and to the supplier, not to the buyer's passport.
A gold bar over a shop counter carries 10 percent
Articles 4 and 30 of the Value-Added Tax Act (in force 2 January 2026):
Article 4 (Taxable Objects) Value-added tax shall be imposed on the following transactions: 1. Supply of goods or services by an entrepreneur; 2. Importation of goods.
Article 30 (Tax Rate) The rate of value-added tax shall be 10 percent.
A gold bar sold by a shop in Jongno's jewellery district, or over a bank counter, is a supply of goods by an entrepreneur. Ten percent is in the price. It is usually not printed as a separate line, which is why the counter price looks higher than the spot price you saw on your phone.
You do not get that 10 percent back when you sell
VAT is collected and remitted by businesses. When you, as a private individual, sell your gold back to a shop, you are not an entrepreneur, so you cannot add VAT to what you charge. The 10 percent you paid on the way in simply stays paid. That is the arithmetic behind the old line that gold has to rise about ten percent before you break even.
This is also the point where the tourist VAT refund question comes up, and I have to be honest about the limit of what I checked: the refund scheme for departing visitors has its own rules and thresholds that I did not verify for gold specifically, so I am not going to state anything about it here. Ask the shop before you pay, not after.
There is one exemption, and it is in the statute
Article 126-7 of the Restriction of Special Taxation Act (in force 1 January 2026) is titled "Special Taxation for Gold Bullion Traded on the Gold Spot Market."
(1) Value-added tax shall be exempted on the supply of gold bullion prescribed by Presidential Decree which falls under any of the following: 1. gold bullion supplied for the first time through trading on the gold spot market … opened and operated by the Korea Exchange; 2. gold bullion traded on the gold spot market after being supplied under subparagraph 1.
The gold spot market run by the Korea Exchange — usually written KRX Gold Market — is exempt from VAT by name. This is not a loophole somebody found. It is the text.
"Gold bullion" means 99.99 percent, in raw form
Article 121-7(1) of the Enforcement Decree (in force 1 July 2026) defines it:
"Gold bullion prescribed by Presidential Decree" means gold in raw material form, such as ingots and gold bars, with a purity of 9,999 parts per 10,000 or higher.
Raw form, 99.99 percent or better. A ring, a chain, a pendant does not qualify. The moment craftsmanship enters, it is a different object in the eyes of this provision. The same decree defines the spot market as the market opened by the Korea Exchange with approval from the Financial Services Commission, and the depository as the body handling storage and withdrawal.
Take it home and the 10 percent arrives
This is the paragraph worth the whole article. Paragraph 4 of the same Article 126-7:
(4) Where gold bullion deposited with a depository is supplied through trading on the gold spot market and is then withdrawn from the depository, such withdrawal shall be deemed a supply of goods under Article 9 of the Value-Added Tax Act. In such cases, the depository shall collect and pay the value-added tax from the person withdrawing the gold bullion.
Walking out with the metal is itself treated as a supply. The 10 percent under Article 30 lands at that moment. You can trade in and out of the market for years without paying VAT, and still pay it in full the day you ask for the bar.
So the real line is not "market versus shop." It is metal in your hand versus metal in an account. Holding it in the account keeps the exemption; taking delivery ends it.
The gain on the sale is not taxed as capital gains
Article 94(1) of the Income Tax Act (in force 1 January 2026) lists what counts as capital gains: 1. land and buildings; 2. rights relating to real estate; 3. stocks and equity; 4. other assets; 5. derivatives; 6. beneficial interests in trusts.
| Income Tax Act art. 94(1) — what capital gains covers |
|---|
| 1. Land and buildings |
| 2. Rights relating to real estate |
| 3. Stocks and equity interests |
| 4. Other assets |
| 5. Derivatives |
| 6. Beneficial interests in trusts |
Physical gold is not on the list. Stocks are there, derivatives are there, gold bullion is not. So a private individual's profit from buying gold and selling it later is not within the capital gains article. When people say "there is no tax on gold in Korea," this is the half they are pointing at — and they are conflating it with the 10 percent you paid at purchase, which is a different tax entirely.
Doing it repeatedly is a different question
Not being capital gains does not mean nothing can ever apply. If buying and selling becomes continuous and repeated enough to look like a business, business income rules come into play. Where that line sits is a question of facts, not a number in the statute, so I will say only that the line exists. If your volume is serious, ask a tax office or a licensed tax accountant rather than a blog.
Getting into the KRX market means a securities account
According to the Korea Exchange's own guide, you trade the gold market by opening a general commodities account at a member securities company and then dealing through HTS, mobile, phone or a branch visit — the exchange's phrasing is that you trade it "like stocks." Importers, refiners and distributors deposit metal with the depository, the Korea Securities Depository, and that metal is what trades. The bullion carries purity of 99.99 percent certified by the LBMA or the Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation.
The exchange publishes the list of brokerages where the account can be opened; as of its guide, thirteen investment firms were general members, and the named list includes KB, NH, SK, Daishin, Mirae Asset, Samsung, Shinhan, Yuanta, Eugene, Kiwoom, Hana, Korea Investment, Hyundai Motor and Hanwha. Whether a given brokerage will open that account for a foreign resident, and what documents it wants, is set by each firm — ask them, and expect your alien registration card to be part of it.
Where the paperwork looks unfamiliar
Two more provisions explain something that surprises buyers. Paragraph 3 requires the supplying business to issue its tax invoice naming the depository as the recipient, not you. Paragraph 7 states that for bullion traded on the spot market, the invoices under Article 163 of the Income Tax Act and Article 121 of the Corporate Tax Act shall not be issued. So there is no shop-style receipt; your record is the brokerage's trade history. On withdrawal, by contrast, the depository collects VAT under paragraph 4, so a tax record appears at that point.
What this article does not cover
Bank gold accounts — the so-called gold banking products — are deliberately left out. A 2010 government explanation cited Article 26(3) of the Income Tax Act Enforcement Decree as the basis for taxing them as dividend income, but the current Article 26 covers interest income and the dividend provision at Article 26-3 has since been rewritten around derivative-linked securities and exchange-traded notes, without naming gold accounts. I could not confirm it in the current text, so I did not write it. Gold ETFs and ETNs, trading fees, minimum withdrawal size and withdrawal costs, inheritance and gift valuation, and the customs rules for carrying gold out of Korea are out of scope for the same reason.
Summary
| Where you buy | VAT at purchase | Provision |
|---|---|---|
| Gold bar from a shop or bank counter | 10% | VAT Act arts. 4, 30 |
| KRX Gold Market, held in the account | Exempt | RSTA art. 126-7(1) |
| KRX Gold Market, then physical withdrawal | 10% on withdrawal | RSTA art. 126-7(4) |
| Rings, chains, worked jewellery | 10% | Decree art. 121-7(1) — not bullion |
| Profit when you sell | No capital gains tax | Income Tax Act art. 94(1) |
What to take from this
When the price runs, people head for the jewellery counter. The statute says the split is elsewhere: whether the metal ends up in your hand or stays in an account. In the account it is exempt; the withdrawal itself is deemed a supply and taxed. And the profit on the way out is not covered by the capital gains article at all. None of that tells you whether to buy. It tells you which of the two doors you are standing in.
If you are working through other Korean money paperwork, the tax refund post covers the limits that apply when you leave, and the cashier's cheque post covers the other instrument people are handed and do not recognise.
Sources checked on 12 September 2026 at the National Law Information Center: Value-Added Tax Act (in force 2 Jan 2026), Restriction of Special Taxation Act (1 Jan 2026) and its Enforcement Decree (1 Jul 2026), Income Tax Act (1 Jan 2026); and the Korea Exchange KRX Gold Market guide pages. Translations are mine and the Korean text governs. Prices and fees change constantly and are not stated here. This is not investment advice.
