Soju is displayed at a convenience store / Courtesy of BFG Retail
Alcohol expenditures in South Korea fell at the fastest pace in seven years in the first quarter amid declining alcohol consumption brought on by changing drinking habits and growing health consciousness, government data showed Tuesday.
Households' real consumption expenditures on alcoholic beverages, or inflation-adjusted consumer spending, stood at 13,000 won ($8.58) per month on average in the three months that ended in March, down 9 percent from a year earlier, according to data from Statistics Korea.
It marked the steepest on-year decline since 2019, when the agency began compiling the data on a new quarterly basis.
The figure has also declined for the 10th consecutive quarter since the fourth quarter of 2023, when it fell 4.4 percent.
