With the government set to mandate drunk driving warning images and phrases on alcoholic beverage containers such as soju and beer starting Nov. 9, the liquor industry is preparing its response. The measure is intended to raise awareness about drunk driving. However, industry officials worry that, as alcohol consumption declines especially among younger people, the requirement could hurt purchasing sentiment and create a heavy burden to manage products already in distribution.
According to the industry on the 15th, the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Health Promotion Institute will implement a revision to the Enforcement Rules and Public Notice of the National Health Promotion Act that mandates warning phrases and images about the dangers of drunk driving on alcoholic beverage containers and advertisements starting Nov. 9. The plan is to add a drunk driving prohibition message to the existing phrases, such as warnings about drinking during pregnancy.
The ministry said it plans to enhance prevention by ensuring consumers repeatedly recognize the dangers of drunk driving when they encounter alcoholic products and ads. The rule applies to alcoholic beverages shipped out or declared for import on or after Mar. 19. Products shipped or imported before the effective date may be sold until May 8 next year, with a six-month grace period.
Kim Han-suk, director general of health policy at the ministry, said, "The aim is to raise awareness that alcohol, beyond being a mere preference item, can significantly affect individual health and public safety," adding, "The government will continue to pursue institutional improvements to reduce health damage and social expense caused by drinking."
Officials believe the backdrop to strengthening the exposure of warnings is the assessment that drunk driving remains a recurring social problem. According to the Korean National Police Agency, there were 10,351 drunk driving traffic accidents last year, down 6.6% from the previous year's 11,037. The number of deaths last year was 121, a 12.3% decrease from the year before. Still, despite this downward trend, roughly 10,000 accidents occur every year.
◇ Industry more worried about shifts in consumer sentiment than added costs for warning phrases and images
The liquor industry agrees with the intent of the policy. There is no disagreement on the need to prevent drunk driving and heighten awareness. What the industry is concerned about, however, is the potential shift in consumer sentiment as negative imagery from warnings becomes entrenched. In recent years, as "healthy pleasure" (Healthy Pleasure, enjoying health management) and low-alcohol and nonalcohol trends have spread among younger consumers, alcohol consumption has declined, which could further dampen purchasing sentiment.
In fact, domestic alcohol consumption is on the decline. According to the National Tax Statistics Portal, domestic alcohol shipments fell from 4,014,872 kiloliters (㎘) in 2015 to 3,214,807 ㎘ in 2021. Last year, they decreased further to 3,151,371 ㎘. That is a drop of about 22% over 10 years.
An industry official said, "After the COVID-19 pandemic, company dinners have decreased and interest in health management has grown, so younger consumers are drinking less often. The tendency to choose low-alcohol and nonalcohol beverages is also increasing." The official added, "Since we have already been using supplementary labels and the like, the cost burden of adding warning images is limited. The issue is consumer sentiment." Another industry official said, "The younger the generation, the more they view alcohol itself as preference-based consumption or experience-centered," adding, "Strong warning images could affect their purchasing sentiment and brand experience."
◇ "What about alcohol already on the market"… managing long-storage products is also a task
In addition, the industry views the government as having provided a certain grace period from an inventory management perspective. Still, some say proper management may be difficult for certain long-storage products or small-scale distribution channels. For products with long distribution cycles, such as whisky and traditional liquor (distilled spirits), it is realistically difficult to manage inventory already on the market. Violations of the new rules can result in imprisonment of up to one year or a fine of up to 10 million won.
An industry official said, "Because there is a grace period, each manufacturer can prepare how to apply the phrases or images in time for implementation," but added, "It is realistically difficult to recall and manage products already distributed. In some small-scale channels outside major distribution networks, management may not go smoothly by the time the regulations take effect." A liquor import company official said, "For the time being, existing-label and new-label products will be distributed together, making on-site confusion unavoidable," adding, "For alcohol like whisky that can be stored for a long time, it will be difficult to manage by distinguishing labels between past import volumes and new volumes."
A ministry official said, "Because warning phrases and images are necessary to protect public health and prevent drunk driving, industry cooperation is needed," adding, "Considering agreements such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), we provided a six-month grace period, and products released on the market before implementation can be sold until May next year, allowing the industry sufficient time to respond."
The official added, "We have already heard on-site opinions on the characteristics of each type of alcohol and distribution structure, but it is difficult to reflect everything," and said, "We plan to continue communicating with the industry to reduce on-site confusion."