Wine Voucher as a Free Gift?… Emart Surprised by 'Illegal' Controversy

Chuseok Pre-Reservation Gift Event Withdrawal
Not Allowed Under Liquor Tax Law

A banner for the Chuseok pre-order event "Benefits Only Visible to Me" recently held by Emart. It is currently inaccessible.

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Emart held an event offering wine exchange vouchers as a Chuseok pre-order gift, but the event was abruptly halted due to potential violations of current laws.

According to the distribution industry on the 19th, Emart planned to provide one bottle of the wine "Federico Paternina Crianza Banda Oro" to the first 10,000 customers nationwide who purchased over 1 million KRW worth of Chuseok pre-order gifts through its official application (app) during the 'Benefits Visible Only to Me' Chuseok pre-order event. However, the event was suddenly stopped. The original event period was from August 13 to September 18.

The problematic part was the specification of "providing wine exchange vouchers." This directly violates current liquor regulations. Article 4 of the National Tax Service's delegated order on establishing liquor transaction order explicitly states that large marts, department stores, convenience stores, and general restaurants, as designated sellers, must not provide liquor or liquor exchange vouchers as prizes. Since liquor items, like cigarettes, are not socially encouraged products, they are strictly prohibited by law. Even displaying phrases such as "free liquor exchange voucher" on street promotional banners can cause issues.

An Emart official explained, "This was an operational mistake without any intentional wrongdoing," adding, "The event was stopped midway, and customers who already received the exchange vouchers will be notified via text message. We are exploring alternatives such as providing substitute products at the frontline stores."

A liquor industry insider said, "It is hard to believe such a basic mistake happened at a large mart," and added, "Sometimes part-time workers or on-site staff mistakenly hand out exchange vouchers during in-store tastings." A large mart industry official also remarked, "It is surprising that no one pointed this out during the internal approval process for such a major event conducted at the headquarters level."

Professor Ahn Chang-nam of the Department of Economics and Taxation at Gangnam University explained, "A prize should enhance the utility for the recipient. Since liquor, like cigarettes, is not socially encouraged, it generally cannot be included in promotional giveaways."

A National Tax Service official stated, "Of course, details need to be examined case by case, but under the Liquor Tax Act, liquor exchange vouchers cannot be provided to consumers in any form," adding, "This applies even with conditions such as sales to those over 19 years old or on-site delivery at marts."

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