Wine beats soju in sales for 1st time in Korea

Sales of wine at large discount stores have surpassed those of soju, or traditional Korean liquor, for the first time in Korea.

Lotte Mart on Sunday said wine sales were 4.6 percent higher than those of soju this year as of Sunday. Wine sales had accounted for just 22 percent of soju’s a decade ago, but the figure soared to 94 percent last year.

Lotte’s liquor sales fell by 2.2 percent last year due to economic slowdown. Its sales of soju fell 7.6 percent, traditional liquor 9.4 percent, and beer 0.4 percent. Sales of wine, on the other hand, grew 5.2 percent despite the economic downturn.

A Lotte source said, “(The increase in wine sales is) due to the selection of inexpensive quality wines available on the market as a result of the ratification of free trade agreements with wine-producing countries. The sales gap between wine and soju will likely widen because wine sells more in Christmas season.”

baron@donga.com