Lee Hae-rin is a City Desk reporter at The Korea Times, covering social issues, tourism and taekwondo. She is passionate about speaking up for the rights of minorities, including women, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities and animals as well as discovering the latest makgeolli trend in town. Feel free to reach her at lhr@koreatimes.co.kr.
Safety officials block sale of N. Korean liquor despite unification ministry approval
North Korea's Goryeo Soybean Paste Liquor / Courtesy of Tourism DPRK
By Lee Hae-rin
Efforts to sell North Korean-made liquor in South Korea have stalled after regulators rejected an import registration over missing safety documents.
The unidentified importer brought in about 3,500 bottles of Goryeo doenjang (soybean paste) liquor and deuljjuk (bog bilberry) liquor through Incheon Port in September, after receiving prior approval from the Ministry of Unification.
But the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety later denied registration for the products, citing the importer’s failure to provide documentation verifying the overseas manufacturing site, the unification ministry said Sunday.
The decision was made under the Special Act on Imported Food Safety Control, enacted in 2016, which requires importers to register detailed information about foreign production facilities before filing import notifications. The system ensures that imported goods come from safety-regulated plants and allows South Korean authorities to conduct onsite inspections if potential risks are found.
The ministry said the deal with North Korea’s Sangmyong Trading did not violate international sanctions, marking the first government-approved import of North Korean goods since 2020.
However, on Oct. 14, the Food and Drug Safety Ministry told the importer that registration could not proceed because proof of the factory’s business license was missing. Without that registration, the products cannot be cleared through customs or distributed domestically.
The importer told local media that North Korean officials explained that their factories operate under state control and do not issue business licenses, urging Seoul to apply an exception for such cases.
Regulators said there is no legal basis to exempt North Korean foods from standard safety rules. With inter-Korean ties suspended, the Unification Ministry cannot verify the importer’s claims.
As a result, the government has formed a task force involving the unification, food safety, customs and intelligence agencies to decide how to handle the liquor shipment as well as future North Korean food imports. The group is expected to meet this week.