"Auntie, One Bottle of Soju, Please" Now May Be Sold for 1000 Won at Restaurants

National Tax Service "Retail Stores Allowed to Offer Alcohol Discounts" Interpretation

From now on, restaurants and retail stores such as supermarkets will be able to sell alcohol at prices lower than the supply cost.

Photo by Yoon Dongju

According to the government on the 1st, the National Tax Service recently sent a notice to alcohol-related organizations, including the Korea Alcohol Industry Association, stating that "retailers may sell alcohol to consumers at prices below the purchase cost."

Until now, the National Tax Service has regulated alcohol retailers by stating that "alcohol must not be sold below the actual purchase price." This was to prevent unscrupulous transactions where retailers sell alcohol cheaper than the purchase price and then recover the losses from wholesalers.

However, according to this recent notice, retail stores such as supermarkets and restaurants will be allowed to sell alcohol at prices lower than the purchase cost. The National Tax Service issued an authoritative interpretation that retailers can autonomously set alcohol prices as long as it is not a market-disrupting practice such as dumping sales below cost.

A National Tax Service official explained the interpretation by saying, "This is in line with the government's policy to encourage alcohol discounts to ease the burden of rising prices," adding, "Through free competition among businesses, alcohol prices will decrease, and consumer benefits will increase."

Accordingly, there is growing interest in whether the prices of alcohol at restaurants, which recently rose to around 5,000 to 6,000 won, will fall again. The industry expects that restaurants and supermarkets will engage in discount competition to attract customers and promote sales.

However, some express concerns such as "It is difficult to expect an immediate price reduction since alcohol prices have already increased significantly," or "Is the government encouraging alcohol consumption while trying to stabilize prices?"

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