"I'll give you each a taste of ginseng liquor, on the house."
At 1 p.m. on the 16th, the day after Chobok, a samgyetang specialty restaurant in Gangnam District, Seoul, served a pre-meal ginseng liquor. About 10 bottles of what the restaurant said it had infused itself were displayed on the wall, each containing a ginseng root.
Pre-meal ginseng liquor is common at samgyetang restaurants. People say ginseng liquor cuts the greasiness of chicken, helps blood circulation, and boosts the restorative effect.
Some places buy ginseng liquor on the market to serve, but many also give out liquor they have infused themselves. Legal experts have said such ginseng liquor stands on the boundary of "illegal." Why is that? With Jungbok coming up on the 25th, we took a closer look, prompted by a sudden question.
First, restaurants without a liquor manufacturing license cannot sell liquor they have infused themselves. Under the Punishment of Tax Offenses Act, manufacturing or selling alcohol without a liquor license is punishable by up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million won. The only exception is individuals infusing alcohol for their own consumption.
To manufacture alcohol directly, the Liquor Tax Act requires obtaining a manufacturing license from the head of the competent tax office. Infused liquors like ginseng liquor fall under general distilled spirits under the Liquor Tax Act, and a general distilled spirits license is required.
Even with a liquor manufacturing license, a samgyetang restaurant registered as a general eatery cannot use liquor it manufactures for its business. General eateries may sell only commercially available, mass-produced alcoholic beverages.
Those who have long run samgyetang restaurants said they did not know. A, who said this person has run a samgyetang specialty restaurant for 25 years, said, "I thought it was fine because we are registered to sell alcohol," adding, "I didn't know we needed a separate license just to serve ginseng liquor we infused ourselves." The person added, "We have been offering infused liquor to customers for 25 years without any issues."
B, the owner of a samgyetang specialty restaurant now in its 43rd year, also said, "I have never heard that there are procedures for providing ginseng liquor."
Kim Seung-il, Head of Team at the Korea Foodservice Industry Association, said, "Since ordinary business operators usually report alcohol sales, many seem to interpret it broadly and think it includes infused liquors," adding, "Selling and manufacturing are different."
The Head of Team said, "Because alcohol is considered sensitive as a means of tax revenue, if there is an inspection, all would fall under violations," explaining, "Making ginseng liquor looks simple, but there is a big difference between that and obtaining a license to manufacture and sell it."