Household alcohol purchases hit record

Household purchases of alcoholic drinks hit a record high last year, according to data from Statistics Korea. / Korea Times file

Household purchases of alcohol reached a record high in Korea last year.

Households across the country comprised of two or more persons spent a monthly average of 11,267 won on alcoholic drinks, a 4.8 percent rise from a year earlier, according to Statistics Korea on Monday. This is the most households have spent since the bureau started compiling related data in 2003.

The figure is restricted to alcohol bought for home consumption. Purchases of alcoholic drinks at bars or restaurants are categorized as spending on food. This indicates that households are spending much more on drinking.

In 2003, households spent an average of 6,359 won on alcohol. This rose to 7,200 won in 2004, 8,356 won in 2009, 9,021 won in 2010 and 10,751 won in 2013.

“Purchases of soju increased as its alcohol content fell, and beer purchases have grown together with the popularity of “somaek (a mixture of soju and beer),” an industry source said. Soju is a Korean distilled liquor.

Alcohol purchases according to income levels showed the higher the income, the greater the spending. Dividing households into five groups based on income, the bottom 20 percent spent 67,861 won and the top 20 percent 14,657 won.

However, spending on cigarettes has been falling since 2011.

Households’ monthly average purchases of cigarettes amounted to 16,573 won last year, a 4 percent fall from a year earlier.

Cigarette purchases fluctuated from 2003 to 2010. However, since the figure fell to 18,450 won in 2011, it has continued to decline to 18,351 won in 2012 and 17,263 won in 2013.

This is attributed to greater awareness about health. Spending on cigarettes is expected to fall further after because of the price hike earlier this year.

Middle income and low income groups spent more on cigarettes. The second-highest income group spent 18,132 won followed by the middle-income group with 18,125 won, the second-lowest income group with 15,873 won and the lowest with 14,932 won.