S. Korea seeks to double exports of traditional liquor

South Korea aims to double its exports of traditional Korean wine and liquor products to further develop the traditional brewery industry, the government said Tuesday. Under the plan, the government will provide up to 112.5 billion won (US$98 million) in loans and investment to traditional breweries to help expand their market size from 800 billion won last year to 1.2 trillion won in 2015, according to the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. The move will also help increase the country's exports of traditional drinks, including the rice wine makgeolli, from some $300 million in 2010 to $600 million in 2015, it said. In addition, the government will try to help restore 22 traditional liquors whose production has been halted or recipes have been lost. South Korea's market for alcoholic beverages reached some 7.8 trillion won in 2010, but the country's traditional liquors only took up about 10 percent of the market, the ministry said.