[Exclusive] Soju Shared Bottle Reuse Voluntary Agreement Ultimately Nullified... Transparent and Green Bottles Exchanged One-to-One

End of 'Green Alliance' Lasting Over 10 Years Amid Jinro Is Back Surge
10 Soju Companies Agree on 1:1 Exchange Principle for Different-Shaped and Common Bottles
Concerns Over Soju Bottle Recycling System Collapse as Different-Shaped Bottle Releases Increase

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] The 'Green Bottle Alliance' that the soju industry has maintained for over 10 years has finally broken. The one-to-one exchange between common bottles (green bottles) and non-standard bottles (transparent bottles) has become possible, effectively nullifying the 'Soju Common Bottle Reuse Voluntary Agreement.' It is expected that various shapes and colors of bottles will be used in the soju market, which was previously dominated by green bottles.

One-to-One Exchange Even If Not Green Bottles

According to the Ministry of Environment and the Korea Recycling Resource Distribution Support Center on the 25th, recently, 10 soju companies agreed on the principle of one-to-one exchange between non-standard containers (non-standard bottles) and standard containers (common bottles), as well as between non-standard containers themselves. If a one-to-one container return is difficult, exchanges can be made by paying a return fee agreed upon by each company and the center.

The Ministry of Environment and the Korea Recycling Resource Distribution Support Center have been conducting a study since January on 'Improving the Exchange and Reuse System for Soju Bottles with Non-Standard Containers.' The purpose was to identify problems in the entire process of reusing empty containers due to non-standard containers (collection, sorting, production, etc.) and to propose appropriate exchange costs and methods through investigation and analysis of additional costs incurred.

The industry had voluntarily agreed in 2009 to activate the reuse of soju common bottles and improve convenience by using green bottles of the same shape. They jointly produced and used the 'Chamisul' bottle, which has the largest distribution volume, to increase the reuse rate. However, conflicts began in April last year when HiteJinro launched 'Jinro Is Back' in a transparent bottle. Lotte Chilsung Beverage opposed, claiming that the transparent bottle of Jinro Is Back was a non-standard bottle (a bottle with a different shape, 이형병) outside the agreement. In the case of green bottles, each soju company collects empty bottles of other companies' products, then washes and reuses them at the factory. When the bottle shape is different, collection companies must sort the non-standard bottles of other companies and return them accordingly, which incurs additional costs.

Jinro Is Back empty bottles piled up at the Lotte Chilsung Beverage factory. Photo by Seol Hoon's office

Voluntary Agreement Collapsed Due to Jinro Is Back's Popularity

Riding the retro trend, Jinro Is Back surpassed cumulative sales of 100 million bottles within seven months of its launch. The liquor industry expressed concerns that the soju bottle recycling system might collapse. Eventually, the top two companies, HiteJinro and Lotte Chilsung Beverage, engaged in a dispute over the collection of Jinro Is Back empty bottles. Lotte Chilsung Beverage initially requested that HiteJinro directly collect the piled-up Jinro Is Back empty bottles in front of the factory, but HiteJinro did not take them. Later, as product sales exceeded expectations and empty bottles became scarce, Lotte Chilsung Beverage belatedly requested the bottles. Lotte Chilsung Beverage demanded that HiteJinro pay the cost of sorting transparent bottles, citing increased volume of Jinro Is Back bottles stored at the factory, which required significant investment in manpower, time, and physical space for sorting non-standard bottles. In response, HiteJinro countered that Lotte Chilsung Beverage's product 'Cheongha' also has a different bottle shape but they pay 10.5 won per bottle, so there is no problem, escalating the conflict between the two companies.

Ultimately, the entire liquor industry was embroiled in debate over whether bottles are common or non-standard. During this process, claims were made that the maintenance of the voluntary agreement on common bottle reuse, which had lasted for 10 years, and the autonomy of non-standard bottle product distribution needed to be discussed. Companies using only common bottles opposed the distribution of non-standard bottles, arguing that sorting is difficult when collecting bottles that are not common bottles, and improper sorting could cause machine breakdowns. HiteJinro emphasized the need to recognize product autonomy. Liquor companies such as Hallasan and Muhak, which had used non-standard bottles in the past, stated they would not get involved in the dispute, effectively siding with HiteJinro. Furthermore, the Ministry of Environment stated that while the activation of non-standard containers is undesirable, since it was decided by voluntary agreement, it encourages negotiations between companies, making it difficult to block the distribution of non-standard bottles any longer.

Through ongoing discussions until recently, the liquor industry reached a mutual exchange agreement. Although the return cost for non-standard containers was newly calculated, both the Ministry of Environment and the liquor industry accepted the distribution of non-standard containers, and it is expected that new soju products in non-standard bottles will become more active. An industry insider said, "Although the existing order, which was well maintained by using common bottles, has collapsed, it is unusual that the use of non-standard bottles is allowed, which raises concerns about whether this contradicts the various environmental policies currently promoted by the Ministry of Environment." Another insider emphasized, "Measures such as providing incentives for using standard containers should be broadly considered."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.