In Korea's imported liquor market, cases are piling up of businesses exploiting institutional loopholes in overseas direct purchase and parallel imports to gain only price competitiveness. Industry officials worry they are dodging tax burdens and muddying lines of responsibility.
◇ "Operated in Korea, overseas in form"... exploiting the regulatory blind spot
According to related industry sources on the 27th, some liquor sellers have recently been actively using an overseas direct purchase format to avoid domestic regulations. They list overseas addresses such as Japan and Hong Kong on their websites and run them like direct purchase sites, but in reality some operate in Korea. The Chinese baijiu "Shuijingfang Hongyunchang" is being sold on some sites in the low 100,000 won range, about half the typical domestic distribution price. A liquor import company official said, "The overseas address or company name on the website often does not actually exist, or is unrelated to liquor sales," and noted, "The real operator is active in Korea while placing only the website server overseas in places such as China or Hong Kong to avoid direct oversight under domestic law."
If they place the website server in China or Hong Kong and operate it, it can be viewed as an overseas direct purchase transaction in form, potentially placing it outside the scope of domestic regulation. Logistics are said to be brought in via so-called "daigong (couriers)" from places such as Yantai, China. They are exploiting the fact that strict quarantine or tariff imposition is difficult on items brought in by individuals for personal consumption.
A Korea Customs Service official said, "Overseas direct purchase itself is not illegal," adding, "It is not even clear whether a structure is possible in which a company based in Korea sells liquor in a direct purchase format." If a company based in Korea is actually acting as the main distributor, it means they are exploiting a legal gray area. However, as long as it outwardly takes the form of direct purchase, it is understood that there are limits to direct punishment under the current system.
The fundamental reason they take the risk and jump into illegal distribution lies in the high taxes imposed on liquor. Korea currently adopts an ad valorem tax system that levies taxes based on the liquor price. For imported whisky or baijiu, when combining tariff, liquor tax, education tax, and value-added tax, the taxes amount to about 130%–140% of the import value. By bringing goods in via daigong and disguising them as overseas direct purchases, they can evade taxes and gain a price edge over official importers.
◇ Sales channels growing more covert... consumer safety concerns
Sales channels are also growing increasingly covert. Recently, transactions through Telegram chat rooms that guarantee anonymity have been active. Reporting found that in some secret chat rooms, high-priced whisky fetching as much as 14 million won per bottle is listed, and a seller sometimes lists and sells as many as 40–50 different products.
They do not disclose contact information and transact only through messages, and to evade crackdowns they frequently delete and recreate rooms. Although it has the appearance of peer-to-peer transactions, given the variety and repetition of the items traded, the industry views it as effectively organized commercial activity. There is also a possibility that a parallel importer sells in bulk via a Telegram room. Parallel imports are a method in which a third party other than the official importer brings genuine products in from overseas and distributes them domestically. Parallel imports themselves are not illegal, but if they fail to comply with obligations on quality labeling or quarantine and certification during distribution, legal responsibility can become unclear.
The problem is that such illegal distribution threatens consumer safety. Products that go through formal import procedures have Korean labels attached that detail ingredients and manufacturer information, but illegal products disguised as direct purchases omit these.
Another worrisome point is the risk of counterfeit liquor. If dealers without the headquarters' official export authority mix counterfeit liquor into the distribution process and sell it, there is no way to verify or trace it.
While interest in whisky and baijiu has grown with the spread of the "home drinking (drinking at home)" culture, some observers note that consumers who lack expertise about the products are choosing based solely on price, fueling this illegal market.
An industry official said, "Official importers faithfully pay taxes and comply with all strict regulations such as quarantine and label attachment," adding, "In contrast, illegal businesses disguised as direct purchase are skipping all these procedures and expenses. This is reverse discrimination in the imported liquor market that harms law-abiding companies and an act that destroys the ecosystem."