4 out of every 10 underage drinkers are binge drinkers: report

A person grabs a bottle of soju, a popular Korean liquor, from a shelf at a supermarket in Seoul in this photo taken on Feb. 25. Newsis

By Lee Hae-rin

The number of minors who drink alcohol has gone down to 10 percent, while four out of every 10 of such underage drinkers are binge drinkers.

A recent government study finds that they drink about five to six times a week, and consume more than one bottle of soju at a time. Soju is a popular Korean liquor with about 15 to 20 percent alcohol content that comes in 360-milliliter green bottles.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's (KDCA) national health survey statistics summary on youth drinking, Monday, the number of underage drinkers has declined over the past 10 years.

The KDCA drafted the report based on the youth health survey of around 60,000 middle and high school students across the country, which the agency has conducted every year since 2005.

The report classified the male respondents who drink more than five shots of soju ― with each shot being about 50 to 70 milliliters ― as heavy drinkers, while three shots were the standard for female respondents. Overall, 42.5 percent of male and 49.8 percent of female underage drinker respondents were such cases.

Binge drinkers tend to drink more than a bottle of soju once they start drinking, the report said. The average alcohol consumption of male underage drinker respondents was 10.4 shots, or a bottle and a half of soju, and 7.4 shots, or one bottle of soju for female participants.

Also, underage binge drinkers have a high success rate of purchasing alcohol without presenting their IDs. The success rate of alcohol purchase attempts of both male and female underage respondents was above 85 percent.

The report finds that minors' overall access to alcohol has eased during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Minors' success rates for purchasing alcohol increased from 63.5 percent in 2020 to 71.3 percent in 2021. They responded that their homes and friends' homes are their main venues for drinking alcohol, while only 33 percent ― lower than last year's 42 percent ― of respondents have been through alcohol drinking prevention education programs this year.

Both male and female underage drinkers have experienced smoking, depression and missing breakfast more often than those in the non-drinking group.

According to the National Assembly Research Service, Korea's regulations on alcohol products are weaker compared to those of other OECD countries. The country only has restrictions on age and alcohol sales by mail, while other member countries hold more diverse access limitations, including on advertisements, venues, times and dates for alcohol sales.