Korea

• Labeling Requirements
• Required Documents
• Import Procedures
• Taxes/Tariffs
• Contacts

LABELING REQUIREMENTS

Under Korean law all imported alcohol beverages must be labeled in Korean and (in most cases) attached to the back of the product. Usually this is done by the importer in the duty-free warehouse before customs clearance. The Korean language label must contain the following information:

• Name of the product
• Country of Origin
• Type of product
• Importer's name, address, and phone number
• Importer’s business license number
• Date of bottling (Manufacture date (year, month and day) is mandatory for alcoholic beverages excluding beer and Korean traditional rice liquor since they are required to indicate shelf-life or best before date). For alcoholic beverages, a manufacture number (lot number) or bottling date may be substituted for the manufacture date.
• Alcohol percentage and product volume (please note that Korean regulations permit a tolerance of +/- 0.5% of the stated alcohol content)
• Name of ingredients by volume percentage
• Name of place where product may be exchanged or returned (in the instance of a defective product)
• Instructions for storage (if applicable)
• List of food additives (e.g., Sorbic acid)
• Government Warning against sale to minors
• Mode of distribution (the label must indicate one of the following: “Discount Store Sale only,” “Restaurant Sale only,” or “Sale for Home Use only” as the taxation differs depending on the product’s end-use category). A radio frequency identification tag (RFID tag) may be required for some beverage categories intended for home consumption and should state “For home use” and “Not to be sold in restaurants and bars.”

In addition, one of the following health warning statements should appear in Korean:

• “Alcohol is a carcinogen and excessive drinking causes liver cancer, stomach cancer, etc. Drinking in pregnancy raises the risk of birth with a congenital anomaly.”
• “Excessive drinking is the cause of cancer development. Drinking in youth hinders physical growth and brain development and drinking in pregnancy raises the risk of congenital anomaly or miscarriage.”
• “Excessive drinking causes stroke, memory impairment, or dementia. Drinking in pregnancy raises the risk of birth of congenital anomaly.”

Allergen Labelling:

A separate allergen statement must appear near the ingredients list. Sulfur dioxide, if present in amounts exceeding 10 mg/kg, must be labeled; for example as: “Contains sulfur dioxide.” The following allergenic foods or ingredients must be declared if present: eggs (limited to poultry), milk, buckwheat, peanuts, soybeans, wheat, mackerel, crab, shrimp, pork, peaches, tomatoes, walnuts, chicken, beef, squid, shellfish (including oysters, abalone, and mussels).

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) Labelling:

Korea’s Labeling Standards for Genetically Modified Foods mandate that genetically modified agricultural products or foods containing GMO as an ingredient, which still contain genetically modified DNA or protein after being manufactured or processed shall be labeled as genetically modified foods. Foods containing less than 3% of unintentionally added GMO are exempt.

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REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

• Invoice
• Bill of Lading, or Airway Bill
• Packing List
• Certificate of Origin Statement (needed to qualify for preferential tariff rates)
• List with names of all ingredients, including percentage of major ingredients
• Processing Method
• Certificate of Production Date

Alcohol beverage imports must be cleared by the Korea Customs Service (KCS) and by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS). KCS ensures that all necessary documentation is in place before releasing the product from a bonded area, while MFDS is responsible for all food safety inspections including for imported food. More detailed guidance on import clearance procedures is available at the respective agency websites: KCS Import Procedures and MFDS Food Inspection.

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IMPORT PROCEDURES

To obtain import clearance, the importer declares goods to the KCS, which then issues the certificate of import declaration. This can be done using the KCS online-based electronic clearance system UNIPASS. The importer may file declarations electronically up to five days prior to the arrival of a shipment by sea or one day before arriving by air (this process is referred to as a “prior-entry import declaration”). The declaration must be filed at the KCS office in the region where the shipment is expected to arrive.

In addition to the documents listed in the Required Documents section, the declaration form should also include a description of the goods, quantity, value, and other pertinent information. Once the shipment arrives, it must be stored at a bonded warehouse while KCS verifies that all import requirements have been met.

Inspections of imported food are typically categorized into four types: document review, field test, laboratory test, and random sampling. For first-time imports of alcohol beverage (i.e., the product has not been imported into Korea before), importers must submit two sample bottles of each product to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) inspection office for chemical safety testing. Once approved, future shipments of the same product may only require a visual inspection or a review of the relevant documents.

The MFDS classifies imported food according to risk factors, which determine the level of inspection required. Ethyl carbamate, cyclamate, lead and Ochratoxin A are part of MFDS’s comprehensive screening requirement for first time wine imports. These substances may also be tested as part of the random sampling procedures. Exporters are not required to submit their own analysis; however, they must provide front labels in English and back labels in Korean for review by food inspection authorities. MFDS’s Special Act on Imported Food Safety Management mandates new procedures for pre-registration of foreign food facilities and provides the legal basis for MFDS to take action against foreign facilities that refuse on-site inspection.

Customs duties are not due until 15 days after the import declaration is accepted by KCS, although a security deposit is generally required during this period. Once the payment is received, the clearance system finalizes the import declaration, and the goods may be released.

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TAXES/TARIFFS

There are several taxes that apply to all liquor products sold in Korea, including a flat 10-30% education tax, as well as a separate liquor tax: 30% on fruit wines, 830.3 won/liter on beer, and 72% on Bourbon whiskey.

The import tariffs on wine were eliminated as of March 15, 2012 under the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA), and tariffs on distilled spirits and beer were subsequently removed in 2016 and 2018, respectively.

For the most current tariffs and taxes applied to imported products in Korea, please visit the FTA Tariff Tool. Please ensure you have the Harmonized Schedule classification code in order to obtain tariff information. Also, please see the Census Bureau’s Schedule B search function, which allows you to classify your product according to the United States’ 10 digit export codes. Simply click "Search" and enter the keyword that best describes your product (e.g., beer).

Importation for Personal Use

Travelers aged 19 and over are allowed to import one liter (one bottle) of alcoholic beverages duty-free. The total value of the alcoholic beverages should not exceed $400 (USD). Quantities exceeding these limits may be subject to import duties.

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CONTACTS

The information in this guide was obtained from external sources, including the web sites of various governmental agencies and organizations, direct contact with those agencies and organizations, and from Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) Attaché reports.  Consequently, the accuracy of this information depends upon the accuracy of the sources.

TTB is not responsible for the content of external web sites.

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This page was last reviewed/updated on : 04/15/2025.