The “2025 Korea Wine & Spirits Awards EXPO,” which selects the best alcohols in the country and abroad, featured meaningful lectures on the trends and changes in the alcohol industry.
The 2025 Korea Wine & Spirits Awards EXPO is Korea’s representative alcohol tasting event, marking its 12th year this year. ChosunBiz has held it annually since 2014 with the goal of “discovering good domestic alcohol and widely promoting it, while supporting the formation of a healthy drinking culture.”
This year’s event featured a total of 1,008 brands from 236 companies. It is the largest domestic tasting event covering comprehensive alcohol. Among them, 25 brands were selected as the Best of Best 2025, corresponding to the top award in each sector. Additionally, a total of 431 brands received grand awards across all sectors.
On the 7th, following the award ceremony, lectures by alcohol-related experts were held as a side event at the Setec (SETEC) in Hangnyeoul station. The topics primarily focused on the rapidly changing alcohol consumption trends since last year, the premiumization of traditional liquor, and tax strategies.
◇ Next up after K-pop, K-beauty, and K-food is K-liquor... pay close attention to Japan’s Suntory strategy
Lee Seong-ho, chairman of Korea F&B Partners, said, “For domestic liquors to enter the global market, it is necessary to benchmark other brands that have succeeded overseas.”
Chairman Lee said, “Japan’s Suntory has simultaneously acquired famous overseas whiskey distilleries and wineries as part of a two-track strategy to premiumize its own brands, quickly entering the global market,” adding, “Korean liquors also need to imitate this expansion strategy.”
He shared three key strategies gained from the U.S. markets in Los Angeles and New York.
“First, product innovation and differentiation are important. Second, it is essential to create synergy with the K-lifestyle industry, which combines K-pop, K-beauty, and K-food. Third, cooperation with global investors and business partners is essential.”
He emphasized, “To succeed in the global market, it is necessary to build distribution networks in each country and establish partnerships that can distribute to the desired target audience.”
◇ What is the secret behind the sold-out traditional liquor priced at 1,050,000 won? “Exceptional premiumization”
Lee Ji-min, representative of Daedongyeojudo, presented directions for the development of the traditional liquor industry based on his experience with more than 100 types of traditional liquor each month.
Representative Lee said, “Although the traditional liquor market has been stagnant recently due to an economic downturn, it can find new opportunities through good alcohol and luxurious packaging,” emphasizing that “premiumization of traditional liquor and export are key survival strategies.”
Daedongyeojudo, led by Representative Lee, secured an investment of 10 billion won, which is the largest scale in the traditional liquor industry last year.
Lee stressed that “distilleries need equipment to produce good alcohol, but most are limited to small-scale production,” and “it is important to attract capital to invest in distilleries and establish mass production systems for overseas exports.”
Representative Lee introduced popular products that have created a new trend in the traditional liquor market through premiumization. For instance, the 1,050,000 won “Goundal” package, which used the artwork of painter Chang Wook-jin, received a positive response from VIP customers at Lotte Department Store. Additionally, a crowdfunding project for a clear liquor that collaborated with the popular webtoon “Return of the Blossoming Blade,” which has over 400 million views, achieved 700 million won.
Lee said, “It is important to not merely apply pictures to liquor bottles, but to understand the worldview of the artwork and integrate that into the product with authenticity.”
◇ “Only 30% of wine consumers are women”... breaking the traditional notion of alcohol consumption
Professor Moon Jeong-hoon from Seoul National University reported that, based on data from research firm Embrain that surveyed a national panel of 20,000 people, the trend of domestic alcohol consumption is changing rapidly.
Professor Moon said, “Among the consumers purchasing alcohol at convenience stores, men made up an overwhelming 84%,” adding, “While it is thought that women purchase more wine, in reality, the proportion of women buying wine at convenience stores was limited to 30%.”
“Of the consumers who bought soju at convenience stores, half purchased items such as chicken skewers (49.3%), and among ten consumers who bought beer, seven bought savory snacks (68.4%). This data can be critical for establishing promotions and marketing strategies in the alcohol industry.”
He also noted the growth of the highball market. According to Professor Moon, highballs began to grow rapidly in the domestic market after May 2023.
Professor Moon explained, “While highballs are generally considered to be for female consumers, in reality, they were mainly purchased by men in their 30s (18.5%), men in their 40s (16.5%), and women in their 30s (13.5%),” stating that “even the same highball varies in consumer demographics based on product characteristics such as alcohol content or taste.”
◇ Liquor tax system that also taxes research and development costs... “A cause of decreased industrial competitiveness”
Kim Seon-myeong, vice president of the Korean Association of Certified Public Tax Accountants, emphasized the need for the reform of liquor tax for the development of the alcohol industry.
Vice President Kim pointed out, “Currently, most liquors in our country are subject to a specific tax system, except for beer and takju, which places a tax rate based on product price,” adding, “Including bottle price, packaging costs, distribution fees, and even research and development costs in the tax base lowers the competitiveness of the liquor industry.”
Vice President Kim stated, “Most countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have a weight-based tax system that levies taxes according to the amount of alcohol or alcohol content,” noting that “such a system imposes higher taxes on high-proof liquor, yielding a corrective effect on negative externalities and promoting research and development for premium product development.”
He explained that the repeated delays in shifting from a specific tax to a weight-based tax are due to concerns over increased burdens on low-income households stemming from rising soju prices and reduced tax revenue. He continued, “Soju has low price elasticity, meaning consumption doesn’t significantly drop even if prices rise,” suggesting that “differential tax rates or exemption systems could alleviate the shock.”
Moon Jae-wan, a tax accountant, explained strategies against inheritance tax for wealthy individuals who continue family liquor distilleries.
Moon pointed out that “Heirs must pay the inheritance tax within six months, and when there is no cash, it is common to sell real estate or distilleries at a bargain price to meet the amount,” saying that “there have been cases where brothers who jointly owned a distillery had to sell even their shares when one brother passed away.”
He then explained the differences between corporate and individual tax rates.
“When someone earns 10 billion won, an individual pays a maximum tax rate of 45%, plus an additional 10% local government tax, totaling 49.5%, while corporations are subject to a 22% rate,” he stated, adding, “To reduce taxes, strategic approaches such as establishing family corporations are necessary.”