Models pose with a bottle of wine at Lotte Department Store in central Seoul in this file photo taken on Jan. 12, 2023 (Yonhap)

South Korea's imports of wine rose 3.8 percent in 2022 from a year earlier, data showed Sunday, as more people enjoyed consuming alcoholic beverages at home amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The total value of wine imported by South Korea last year came to $581.2 million, according to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service, after hovering above the $500 million level for the first time in 2021.

Market watchers said the increase in the consumption of wine came as the prolonged pandemic has led people to consume alcoholic beverages at home.

The amount of wine imported in terms of volume, meanwhile, fell 7.2 percent on-year in 2022 to reach 71,020 tons, indicating that more South Koreans are purchasing premium products.

E-Mart Inc., a major South Korean retailer, said wine products priced 100,000 won and above accounted for 11 percent of its total sales in 2022, up from just 8 percent tallied in the previous year.

On the other hand, those with price tags of around 10,000 won to 30,000 won took up 38 percent, down 5 percentage points over the period. (Yonhap)