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While it is common knowledge that soju is the top-selling liquor in the world, there is an interesting fact about soju that many people may not know.
While the price of a bottle of soju is expected to rise again in the near future, one of the reasons that it will increase may surprise you.
It’s due to its bottle cap.
Why do bottle caps affect the price of soju?
According to the alcohol beverage industry, the National Tax Service introduced the “bottle cap tax payment certificate system” in 1972 to prevent tax evasion by controlling the number of stoppers supplied to alcohol beverage producers.
If you look closely, you can see the National Tax Service logo engraved on both sides of the top of the cap flowing down.
Bottle caps currently are set to rise about 2.5 won each, or around 17%, to around 14.5 won to 15.6 won depending on the shipping type, which will lead to an increase in the price of soju.
Bottle caps are actually produced by companies approved by the National Tax Service and not the liquor companies themselves.
Only two produce aluminum stoppers — Samhwa Crown Co. which produces the most at around 60% and Sewang Metal Industrial producing around 40%.
Both companies now use what is known as a 2-split product, which became the preferred cap that splits in two when opening two years ago.
Previous 1-split caps used to sometimes leave debris in the bottle while also this method was much more expensive to maintain quality control.
The number on the bottom of the bottle cap also indicates the manufacturer, ensuring being able to find the manufacturing line more easily.
Soju is expected to rise about 60-70 won per bottle in its latest price hike.
