The growing popularity of highballs in South Korea’s alcoholic beverage market has led to an increase in liquor tax revenue. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEJONG, Sept. 18 (Korea Bizwire) – The growing popularity of highballs in South Korea’s alcoholic beverage market has led to an increase in liquor tax revenue, reflecting changing consumer tastes in the country’s drinking culture.
According to data obtained from the National Tax Service by Park Sung-hoon, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, overall liquor tax collection rose modestly from 2.79 trillion won in 2022 to 2.82 trillion won in 2023, an increase of 1.06%.
However, the standout trend in the data is the dramatic rise in tax revenue from liqueurs, which are often used in highballs, cocktails typically made with whisky and carbonated water or tonic.
Liqueur tax revenue nearly doubled from 10.7 billion won in 2022 to 19 billion won in 2023. Compared to 2020, when it stood at 5 billion won, the figure has almost quadrupled in just three years.
This surge aligns with the growing popularity of ready-to-drink highball products in convenience stores, which are often classified as liqueurs under South Korean tax law.
Interestingly, whisky tax revenue, after showing steep increases from 1.4 billion won in 2020 to 6.5 billion won in 2022, saw a decline to about 2.7 billion won in 2023.
Despite these shifts, traditional favorites continue to dominate the market. Diluted soju and beer remained the largest contributors to liquor tax revenue in 2023, bringing in 1.35 trillion won and 1.26 trillion won respectively.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
