Tag: South Korea

  • Japanese Cigarettes Unaffected by Boycott

    Japanese Cigarettes Unaffected by Boycott

    Photo: okaybuild from Pixabay

    Sales of Japanese cigarettes have remained resilient in South Korea despite a consumer boycott against Japanese products, reports The Korea Bizwire.

    The Korea Customs Service reported that South Korea imported 4,220.6 tons of cigarettes from the Philippines between July last year and June of this year, which was merely 2.79 percent lower than the volume of imports during the same period in the previous year.

    Among the top four cigarette companies dominating the South Korean market, Japan Tobacco International (JTI) is the only company with a production plant in the Philippines. All cigarette imports from the Philippines, therefore, are de facto produced by JTI.

    Sales of Japanese cars and beer, by contrast, have declined significantly in Korea because of the boycott, which was sparked by a deepening dispute over the countries’ wartime legacy.

    Experts say tobacco consumers tend to be more brand loyal than users of other products. What’s more JTI’s share in South Korea has been comparatively small, lowering the chance of being affected by the boycott movement.

  • South Korea: Sales of Heated Products Likely to Edge Up

    South Korea: Sales of Heated Products Likely to Edge Up

    Photo: KT&G

    Sales of heated tobacco products in South Korea will likely edge up this year, even as the overall tobacco market is expected to decline, reports The Korea Herald, citing figures from Euromonitor International.

    According to the market intelligence company, the Korean tobacco market reached KRW17.19 trillion ($16 billion) in 2019. Of that figure, KRW1.89 trillion was spent on heat-not-burn cigarettes, making South Korea the second-largest market for such products after Japan.

    Euromonitor forecast Korea’s heating tobacco product market to reach KRW2 trillion in 2020.

    Sales of e-cigarettes are expected to drop by 80 percent to KRW16.8 billion this year in the wake of new government restrictions on the category.

    Flavored tobacco products, meanwhile, are gaining popularity in Korea. Last year, flavored products accounted for about 20 percent of South Korea’s conventional cigarette market, which is higher than in Japan (7 percent) and China (1.7 percent).

  • KT&G Researcher Recognized

    KT&G Researcher Recognized

    KT&G Senior Researcher Kim Ik-jung (Photo: KT&G)

    A KT&G researcher has received the Prime Minister Award in recognition of his contribution to industrial development in South Korea.
     
    KT&G Senior Researcher Kim Ik-jung was recognized for his development of a fat-soluble liquid encapsulation technology previously held only by prominent pharmaceutical manufacturers in Japan and Europe, and for securing patent rights in Korea and overseas.
     
    The technology enabled KT&G to localize the production of tobacco capsules, for which it previously relied on imports from Japan. The technology could potentially also be used in other industries, including medicines and foods.
     
    The award was presented June 24 on South Korea’s 55th Invention Day, an event organized by the Korean Intellectual Property Office and hosted by the Korea Invention Promotion Association.

  • South Korea to ‘Refresh’ Tobacco Health Warnings

    South Korea to ‘Refresh’ Tobacco Health Warnings

    Photo: KT&G

    South Korea will introduce new graphic warning images this year, reports the Yonhap News Agency.  
     
    Of the 12 photos currently used on cigarette packs, nine will be replaced with new images starting Dec. 23, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said.
     
    The new images will highlight the greater chances of smokers contracting lung and oral cancer, heart disease, stroke and early death, as well as the dangers of secondhand smoking and smoking during pregnancy.
     
    Warning images showcasing the heightened risk of laryngeal cancer, sexual dysfunction and dangers posed by electronic cigarettes will be retained as they have been shown to be effective in enhancing risk awareness, according to the ministry.
     
    South Korea’s rules require 75 percent of a cigarette pack to be covered in warning images and text. Images must account for 55 percent of the packs with both the front and back required to show graphic pictures. These images need to be revised every 24 months.

  • Lil Hybrid 2.0 Goes Nationwide in Korea

    Lil Hybrid 2.0 Goes Nationwide in Korea

    Photo: KT&G

    KT&G will expand the sales of its Lil Hybrid 2.0 heated tobacco cigarette to all cities in South Korea.

    The product debuted in February in major cities, such as Seoul, and expanded to 37 metropolitan areas in April.

    The expansion follows a series of inquiries from consumers in areas where the product had not yet been released, according to Lim Wang-seop, business director for next-generation products at KT&G.

    “Since the launch of the product, we have continued to expand our sales outlets,” Lim said. “We will continue to lead the e-cigarette market by strengthening product competitiveness and enhancing customer satisfaction through technological innovation.”

    Lil Hybrid 2.0 is equipped with a function that automatically warms up when a stick is inserted for the first time. An OLED display provides information on the battery charge, the cartridge level and the remaining number of puffs.  

    The recommended consumer price is KRW110,000 ($90.27).

  • Juul Labs to Exit South Korea, Five EU Markets

    Juul Labs to Exit South Korea, Five EU Markets

    Juul Labs said today it would end operations in South Korea, a year after it entered the market. The company states the cause was its inability to gain market share amid government health warnings.

    In a statement, Juul Labs stated that since the beginning of the year it was working through a restructuring process aimed a re-establishing a viable business in South Korea by significantly reducing costs and making changes to its products.

    “However, these innovations will not be available as anticipated,” the statement said. “As a result, we intend to cease our operations in South Korea.”

    In October last year, South Korea’s health ministry advised people to stop vaping because of growing health concerns, especially after a case of pneumonia was reported in a 30-year-old e-cigarette user that month, according to Reuters news article.

    The announcement prompted convenience store chains and duty free shops to suspend the sale of flavored liquid e-cigarettes, including those made by Juul Labs.

    In December, South Korean health authorities said they had found vitamin E acetate, which may be linked to lung illnesses, in some liquid e-cigarette products made by Juul Labs, but the company denied using the material, according to Reuters.

    Juul Labs launched a product portfolio that was specifically developed for the Korean market in May 2019, but “our performance has not met expectations in terms of meeting the needs of our Korean adult smokers to successfully transition from combustible cigarettes,” according to the statement. “We have learned through this process and are focused on innovating our product portfolio.”

    Juul Labs is also reportedly ready to withdraw from a handful of EU markets as well, claiming the regulatory environment has become overly hostile to the device.

    According to BuzzFeed News, Juul will soon remove its products from shelves in Austria, Belgium, Portugal, France, and Spain.

    The news outlet reports the European Union’s strict requirement that e-cigs contain no more than 20 milligrams of nicotine makes it difficult for Juul to do business there.

    Austria, Belgium, and Portugal are very small markets for Juul, but the leading e-cig manufacturer generates significant sales from France and Spain. It will exit France by the end of the year, but withdraw from the other countries in July, paring its presence in global markets to a narrow selection that includes Germany, Italy, Russia, and the U.K.

  • Cigarette sales down

    Cigarette sales down

    Sales of cigarettes in South Korea in February were down 9.8 percent on those of a year earlier, according to a Yonhap News Agency story.

    The fall in sales was attributed to a concerted anti-smoking campaign and higher prices.

    Data compiled by the Ministry of Economics and Finance and published today showed that South Korean smokers bought 235.5 million 20-piece packs during February, down from 261.2 million during February last year.

    The 2019 February figure was down 14.1 percent on that of February 2014.

    Cigarette prices were increased by 80 percent in January 2015, from 2,500 won (US$2.20) per pack to 4,500 won, largely through the imposition of a tax hike.

    And in 2016, the Government mandated that tobacco companies place graphic health warnings on the upper part of cigarette packs.

    However, while combustible-cigarette consumption is falling, the consumption of vapor products is headed in the other direction.

    Sales of heat-not-burn tobacco products reached 29.4 million packs in February, accounting for 12.5 percent of the country’s total tobacco market.

    Such sales accounted for 8.5 percent of the market in February 2018.

  • Hybrid device well received

    Hybrid device well received

    KT&G sold more than 200,000 of its lil Hybrid devices within 80 days of their launch in South Korea, according to a story by Baek Byung-yeul for The Korea Times.

    The new device is a hybrid in that it uses both electronic-cigarette and heat-not-burn (HNB) technologies, which means that the consumer uses both e-liquid cartridges and tobacco sticks at the same time.

    The company’s lil Hybrid device, its MIIX tobacco sticks and e-liquid cartridges were launched in December.

    KT&G said yesterday that sales of the hybrid device were growing faster than those of the original lil HNB device, which took about 100 days to pass the 200,000 mark.

    Sales of its lil HNB device hit one million in October 2018 and 1.5 million this month.

    South Korea’s e-cigarette market has seen growing competition in recent years and industry insiders believe the race to take the lead will peak this year because JUUL Labs is expected to roll out its e-cigarette.

    Lim Wang-seop, the chief of KT&G’s innovative product department, was quoted as saying that his company had been developing new products that could compete with Juul.

    The e-cigarette market accounted for only 3.13 percent of the entire tobacco market in South Korea, he said, but KT&G expected this share to grow to about 14 percent to 15 percent after the introduction of Juul.

    Nevertheless, Cho Sang-hoon, an analyst at Samsung Securities, was quoted as saying that KT&G wouldn’t be negatively affected by the market changes.

    KT&G’s share in the regular cigarette market would grow by about one percent to 62.9 percent this year, while its share in the e-cigarette market would increase to about 30 percent this year, from about 17 percent in 2018.

  • Juul heads to South Korea

    Juul heads to South Korea

    Juul Labs Inc. is expected to enter the South Korean market this year, according to a story by Cho Chung-un for The Korea Herald, quoting a company representative.

    The San Francisco-based company was said to have launched in the US in 2017 its electronic-cigarette brand Juul, which, by September 2018, had captured a 72 percent share of that country’s market.

    “We are aiming to put the Juul on the South Korean market during the first half of this year or at the start of the latter half at the latest,” a company representative was quoted as saying.

    Juul is already available outside the US in Germany, France, Britain, Switzerland, Canada, Russia and Israel.

    The e-cigarette maker established its local subsidiary, Juul Labs Korea, late last year.

    It has filed a trademark application with the Korean Intellectual Property Office and has been working to establish a sales network.

    The story said that Juul Labs planned to offer its brand with a nicotine content of less than one percent.

    Korea permitted the sale of e-cigarettes with nicotine levels of up to two percent, while Juul pods sold in the US contained 3-5 percent nicotine.

  • Banning multi-tasking

    Banning multi-tasking

    Smoking tobacco while walking in public places will be banned in South Korea if a proposed bill passes into law, according to a story in The Korea Times.

    The bill, which was proposed early this month by Rep. Hwang Ju-hong of the Liberal Party for Democracy and Peace, is aimed at banning smoking on virtually all public roads and walkways.

    “Non-smokers are often exposed to tobacco smoke because of some inconsiderate smokers,” Hwang was quoted as saying. “Public opinion is in favor of banning smoking while walking.”

    If the National Assembly passes the bill, violators would be liable to a fine of 100,000 won ($90).

    South Korea has already banned smoking in most restaurants, offices and public venues such as parks.

    The Times said that smokers opposed to the bill complained that there were not enough smoking rooms.

    According to a study by the Seoul Institute in 2017, there were 10,000 public smoking rooms in the city, which has a population of 10 million people.