韩国酒类出货量跌破300万千升，啤酒与烧酒连续三年下滑

South Korea's liquor shipments fell below 3 million kiloliters for the first time in 27 years last year, signaling that the market has entered a phase of structural contraction, analysts say. In response, brewers are rolling out low-alcohol, non-alcoholic and alcohol-free products, along with drinks featuring a range of flavors and aromas, to broaden their consumer base.
Domestic liquor shipments totaled 2.988 million kiloliters last year, according to the National Tax Service's tax statistics portal, TASIS, on the 23rd. It was the first time shipments dropped below 3 million kiloliters since 1998, when they stood at 2.922 million kiloliters during the Asian financial crisis under the International Monetary Fund. Shipments of both beer and soju fell for a third consecutive year, while shipments of takju, or unrefined rice wine, declined for a fifth straight year starting in 2021.
Industry officials attribute the drop in shipments to fewer drinking occasions and smaller quantities consumed, driven by an aging population, a shrinking population, changing after-work dinner culture and growing interest in health. According to the "2025 Liquor Industry Information Survey" published by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corporation (aT), consumers who drank at least once a month drank an average of 8.8 days per month, down from 9.0 days in 2023. The average amount consumed per drinking day also fell to 6.6 glasses from 6.7 glasses over the same period.
Liquor companies are offering low-alcohol drinks, alcohol-free and non-alcoholic products, ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages and exports as alternatives, in line with the "Sober Curious" culture of avoiding alcohol. Lotte Chilsung Beverage is targeting the market with its fruit-flavored carbonated drink "Soonhari Gin" and its non-alcoholic beer "Kloud Non-Alcoholic."
Oriental Brewery held the top spot in the alcohol-free beer segment of the home beer market in the second quarter of this year, with a 43.5% share led by "Cass Zero (0.0)." BeerK, the domestic importer and distributor of Tsingtao beer, is also defending its performance with alcohol-free beer. Jipyeong Brewery, a traditional liquor maker, officially launched its low-alcohol makgeolli varieties "Jipyeong Matcha" and "Jipyeong Lychee" in the domestic market last month, after previously selling them as export-only products.
Overseas expansion is also accelerating. Exports of "other liqueurs," which include fruit-flavored soju, reached $100.41 million last year, up 4.3% from a year earlier and surpassing $100 million for the first time.