Wine for sale in a department store in Seoul, Tuesday. According to data from the Korean Customs Service, alcohol imports to South Korea doubled over four years, to log $1.6 billion in 2022. The numbers record a 54 percent increase from the alcohol imports logged in 2018 ($1 billion). As a result, the balance of the liquor trade in Korea was a deficit of $1.2 billion last year. With the increased amount of wine imports, the trade deficit for alcohol nearly doubled in four years, from the deficit of $630 million in 2018. (Yonhap)