As President Lee Jae-myung keeps floating the idea of a "sugar levy" (sugar tax), discount campaigns for sweetened beverages led by big-box retailers are drawing attention. The industry says these are routine promotions, but interest appears to have grown as they coincide with the discussion on a sugar levy sparked by the president's remarks.
According to related industry sources on the 3rd, Homeplus Co. is running a promotion from the 29th of last month to the 4th of this month, offering up to 50% off seven types of canned drinks including Coca-Cola and Haitai at stores nationwide. It is also providing 15%–20% discount coupons for orange and apple juices and sikhye in PET bottles or cartons.
Around the same period, E-MART also offered beverage discounts through its large-scale promotion "Goraeit Festa." From the 29th of last month to on the 1st, it applied a 50% discount on all large PET single-item carbonated drinks such as Chilsung Cider, Sprite, Coca-Cola, and Pepsi when purchasing two or more.
Warehouse clubs joined in as well. Costco is discounting beverage products such as Pepsi-Cola, Chilsung Cider, Toms Juice, and Hot Six through the 8th of this month. Toms Juice orange and grape (355 ml, 24 cans) and Chilsung Cider (1.8 liters, 6 bottles) are about 15% off, and Hot Six The Pro Original (355 ml, 18 cans) is about 25% off.
As the president recently put the sugar levy on the agenda, consumers' attention turned to the distribution sector's across-the-board beverage discounts. It is seen in a similar context to when, after the president's remarks on the burden of sanitary pad prices, manufacturers as well as retailers such as Coupang and E-MART24 rolled out successive discount events and price cuts.
A sugar levy is a charge imposed on food products containing sugar or sweeteners, such as carbonated drinks. Overseas, major European countries including the United Kingdom levy a set amount under the so-called sugar tax based on criteria such as sugar content or the final product's weight.
Earlier, on the 1st, the president wrote on social networking service X (formerly Twitter), "I look forward to a deep and cool-headed debate on whether to introduce a sugar levy." This reiterated the intention to introduce a sugar levy following the first mention on the 28th of last month.
In particular, the president is emphasizing that it is a "levy," not a "tax," sidestepping a tax-hike controversy while suggesting the possibility of securing additional funding. A levy is a quasi-tax charge created for specific purposes and uses, and the government plans to use it for health promotion projects or to ease medical expenses.
The retail industry says these discounts were planned in advance and are not directly related to the sugar levy controversy, but it is closely watching the discussion. If the system is actually introduced, concerns are being raised that not only sweetened beverages but also confectionery and processed foods will face higher production costs, making price hikes on key products inevitable.
Some also predict it could lead to an expansion of the low-sugar and alternative sweetener market. In recent years, low-sugar, low-calorie, and sugar-zero (0) foods have become a trend, and demand for alternative sweeteners such as allulose and stevia has been steadily increasing.
Allulose is a sugar found in small amounts in fruits such as figs and grapes or in corn. It provides about 70% of sugar's sweetness but has near-zero calories. Stevia is a natural sweetener extracted from stevia leaves. Like allulose, it has almost no calories, but its sweetness is 200–300 times stronger than sugar.
Following the president's remarks on a sugar levy, related bills have been introduced and public debate has begun in the National Assembly. Lawmaker Jeong Tae-ho of the Democratic Party of Korea and others plan to hold a "National Assembly debate on the excessive use of sugar levy" on the 12th to discuss the need for the system and key issues. Lawmaker Kim Sun-min of the Rebuilding Korea Party on the 29th of last month introduced an amendment to the National Health Promotion Act that would impose a levy of 225–300 won per liter on sweetened beverages.