An ISA requires Korean tax residency and income or residency conditions; check with the bank.
Gains and losses inside the ISA are netted; ₩2M (general) or ₩4M (low-income) is tax-free and the rest is taxed 9.9% separately.
This calculator assumes all profit would be taxed 15.4% in a regular account (dividends, interest, overseas ETFs). Korean listed stock gains are already tax-free.
FAQ
How much is tax-free in a Korean ISA?
₩2M for the general type and ₩4M for the low-income/farmer type; profit above that is taxed 9.9%.
Worked example
Example: investing ₩20 million a year for 3 years at 5% gives about ₩66.2 million at maturity, a profit of about ₩6.2 million. In a regular account the 15.4% tax would be about ₩955,000. In a general ISA the first ₩2 million of profit is tax-free and the rest is taxed at 9.9%, about ₩416,000 — saving about ₩539,000.
After maturity: moving matured ISA money into a pension savings account or IRP within 60 days adds 10% of the amount, up to ₩3 million, to the contributions eligible for the pension tax credit. ISAs can hold deposits, funds, ETFs and Korean shares depending on the type you open.
Common mistakes
Closing an ISA before the three-year minimum generally cancels the tax benefits.
The tax-free amount is ₩2 million for the general type and ₩4 million for the low-income and farmer/fisher types.
Contributions are limited to ₩20 million a year and ₩100 million in total; unused allowance carries over.