DIVERSE MARKET SITUATION
14 · BBII 6/2020
and increasing imports started
to cut the market share of the two
established brewers. Increased
competition from imports, in turn,
led the two dominant brewers
to introduce new beer offerings.
However, the most significant
change of the last decade was
Oriental Brewery’s acquisition
by Anheuser-Busch (AB) InBev
in 2014. As a result, OB currently
brews and bottles some of
AB InBev’s portfolio, including
Hoegaarden and Budweiser (glass
bottles only) in Korea for local distribution.
In addition, OB imports
and distributes many AB InBev
brands in Korea, including Budweiser
(cans), Corona, Beck’s, Stella
Artois, Leffe and Löwenbräu.
HiteJinro and Lotte Chilsung have
also established import distribution
partnerships with international beer
companies to capitalize on increased
demand for imported beer.
South Korean consumers. Domestic
products accounted for 87 percent
of alcoholic beverage consumption
by volume. Beer and soju
are the most consumed alcoholic
beverages. Beer accounted for
a whopping 51.17 percent (on
volume basis) of this consumption.
At the start of the last decade, the
South Korean beer market was a
pure duopoly. Two leading producers
controlled more than 90 percent
of the beer market. However,
the second half of the decade
brought some changes in the beer
industry. The entry of a third brewer
The South Korean beer industry
is dominated by two large-scale
local breweries, Oriental Brewery
Company Co., Ltd. (OB) and
HiteJinro Co. (Hite). Lotte Chilsung,
another large-scale brewery,
entered the industry by launching
the “Kloud” brand in 2014. These
three large-scale breweries
together accounted for nearly
85 percent of beer sales in 2019.
Popularity of beer in South Korea
can be understood from the following
figures. In 2018, 34 million
hectoliters of domestic alcoholic
beverages were consumed by the
Beer in South Korea
With a population of 52 million people, South Korea is one of the smaller countries (both
population and geography-wise) in the Asia region. But, despite its small size it is one of the largest
and most exciting beer markets in the Asian region. With a consumption of 20.14 million hl of beer in
2018, it was the 21st largest consumer of beer globally. With a per capita consumption of over 39 liters,
the country’s beer industry has registered steady growth rates during the last whole decade.
In the following article, BREWING AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY INTERNATIONAL presents
an overview of the South Korean beer market and industry.
HiteJinro is the second largest beer
producer in South Korea. The company
is a merger between two alcohol
companies: Hite Brewery and Jinro.