[Exclusive] Soju Transparent Bottle vs. Green Bottle War... Ministry of Environment Improves Regulations for Selective Exchange of Non-Standard Containers

Ministry of Environment Launches Study to Improve Exchange and Reuse System for Soju Bottles with Non-Standard Containers
Proposes Appropriate Exchange Costs and Methods for Different Bottles... Moves Toward Mandatory Regulations Beyond Recommendations

In October 2019, Jinro Is Back empty bottles were piled up at the Lotte Chilsung factory. Photo by Seol Hoon's office.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] Clear bottle VS green bottle. The Ministry of Environment has stepped in to mediate the 'Soju Bottle War' that started as a dispute between HiteJinro and Lotte Chilsung. Through the 'Study on the Exchange and Reuse System Improvement of Non-Standard Soju Bottles,' they plan to establish institutional improvement measures within three months at the latest. Accordingly, attention is focused on whether the soju bottle war, which heated up the soju industry in the second half of last year, will come to an end this year.

According to the related industry on the 13th, the Ministry of Environment and the Korea Recycling Resource Distribution Support Center (KORA) called six soju companies, including HiteJinro and Lotte Chilsung, on the 8th to hold a kickoff report on the 'Study on the Exchange and Reuse System Improvement of Non-Standard Soju Bottles.' On that day, the Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation of Anyang University, selected as the research contractor, presented the first report to conduct a comprehensive market environment and institutional improvement study, including a survey on the current status of non-standard containers and preparation of improvement measures.

An official from the Ministry of Environment explained, "We plan to conduct a research project for about 2 to 3 months to investigate the sorting and exchange costs of non-standard containers," adding, "Based on the survey results, we will improve regulations on the exchange of non-standard containers and establish appropriate sorting cost calculation methods." The official emphasized, "We intend to recommend improvement measures to the industry or, if necessary, enforce (mandatory) regulations." The Korea Recycling Resource Distribution Support Center also stated, "We will identify problems throughout the entire process (collection-sorting-production, etc.) of reusing empty bottles caused by other companies' non-standard containers and propose appropriate exchange costs and exchange methods through investigation and analysis of additional incurred costs."

In October last year, HiteJinro and Lotte Chilsung's liquor division engaged in a soju bottle war. Since 2009, the industry has used green bottles of the same shape under the 'Voluntary Agreement for Shared Use of Soju Empty Bottles' to activate the reuse of empty bottles and improve convenience. They jointly produced and used the 'Chamisul' bottle, which has the largest distribution volume, to increase the reuse rate. However, the conflict began in April last year when HiteJinro launched 'Jinro Is Back' in a clear bottle. Lotte Chilsung opposed, claiming that the clear bottle of Jinro Is Back was a non-standard bottle (a bottle with a different shape) that violated the agreement. In the case of green bottles, each soju company collects empty bottles of other companies' products, then cleans and reuses them at the factory. If the bottle shape is different, the collection company sorts out the non-standard bottles of other companies and returns them, incurring additional costs in the process.

Lotte Chilsung initially requested that HiteJinro directly collect the Jinro Is Back empty bottles but claimed that HiteJinro did not take them. When product sales increased more than expected and empty bottles became scarce, Lotte Chilsung belatedly requested the bottles. As the volume of Jinro Is Back empty bottles piled up at the factory increased, Lotte Chilsung demanded that HiteJinro pay the cost of sorting the clear bottles, citing the significant investment of manpower, time, and physical space required. In response, HiteJinro countered that Lotte Chilsung's product 'Cheongha' also has a different bottle shape but pays 10.5 won per bottle, so there is no problem, escalating the conflict between the two companies.

The liquor industry also debated whether to use shared bottles or non-standard bottles. During this process, there were calls to discuss whether to maintain the voluntary agreement on shared bottle reuse, which has been in place for 10 years, and the deregulation of non-standard bottle product distribution.

Companies that use only shared bottles expressed concerns, saying, "If it is not a shared bottle, sorting during collection is difficult, and if sorting is not done properly, machines may break down." On the other hand, companies like Hallasan and Muhak, which have introduced non-standard bottles so far, are closely monitoring the situation but drew a line by saying they have nothing to discuss regarding the voluntary agreement.

The Ministry of Environment has maintained the position that while the activation of non-standard containers is undesirable, it encourages companies to negotiate since it is set by voluntary agreement. Subsequently, after intense conflicts between HiteJinro and Lotte Chilsung, they reached a first agreement on November 12 last year through mediation by the Korea Recycling Resource Distribution Support Center. HiteJinro agreed to pay 10.5 won per empty bottle (the same fee as Cheongha) and to return about 4.2 million Jinro Is Back empty bottles held by Lotte Chilsung. At that time, Lotte Chilsung objected that the fee per bottle was low but stated that they would make additional settlements based on the research project results once they are available.

An industry insider said, "Although there is a voluntary agreement, only half of the 10 soju companies currently use standard containers only," adding, "As more companies use various containers to expand consumer choice, it is necessary to establish appropriate exchange costs and exchange methods through this study."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.