Key points:
1. The import value of e-liquid for e-cigarettes in South Korea is increasing year by year, reaching 85.64 million US dollars in 2024, a 39.5% year-on-year increase.
2. Demand for synthetic nicotine e-cigarettes is expanding: As synthetic nicotine is not regulated by South Korea's Tobacco Business Act, it can be sold online or through unmanned vending machines, leading to a sharp increase in demand for e-cigarettes among young people.
3. Domestic tobacco sales in South Korea declined in 2024: According to data from the South Korean Ministry of Strategy and Finance, total domestic tobacco sales in South Korea in 2024 were 3.53 billion packs, a 2.2% year-on-year decrease.
4. Legislation on the regulation of synthetic nicotine has not yet been passed by the National Assembly: Synthetic nicotine products are not classified as tobacco, and laws related to taxation and sales are still in a regulatory gray area.
According to a report from South Korea's Maeil Business Newspaper on April 21, the import scale of e-cigarette liquid in South Korea has been increasing year by year. However, synthetic nicotine, which occupies the majority of the e-cigarette market share, is currently in a legal gray area and urgently requires clear regulatory measures.
According to the trade statistics released by the South Korean Customs on April 21, the country's import value of e-cigarette liquid in 2024 reached $85.64 million (approximately 121.5 billion Korean won), an increase of 39.5% compared to 2023 ($60.92 million, or approximately 96.4 billion Korean won). Since 2022, when the import value was $50.91 million (approximately 72.2 billion Korean won), the import value of e-cigarette liquid has been increasing every year.
The import volume this year has exceeded the level in 2024. The import value in the first quarter of 2025 was $17.96 million (approximately 254 billion Korean won), an increase of 8.5% compared to the same period in 2024 ($16.55 million, approximately 234 billion Korean won).
The increase in imports of e-cigarette liquid seems to be related to the growing demand for synthetic nicotine e-cigarettes. Since synthetic nicotine is not regulated by tobacco industry laws, it can be sold through online sales or unmanned vending machines. This has led to a surge in demand for e-cigarettes, particularly among young consumers.
This trend is in line with the overall trend of increasing e-cigarette sales in the tobacco market in recent times. According to the "Tobacco Market Dynamics" report released by the South Korean Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the total domestic tobacco sales in South Korea in 2024 were 3.53 billion boxes, a decrease of 2.2% compared to the previous year (3.61 billion boxes).
Among them, the proportion of heated tobacco is 18.4%. Related data shows that this proportion has increased from 2.2% in 2017 to 10.5% in 2019, and is projected to reach 16.9% by 2023, showing a year-on-year upward trend. If vape, which mainly relies on imports, is also taken into account, the market share of e-cigarettes may be higher than what the government statistics suggest.
Currently, the South Korean National Assembly is considering a bill that would include synthetic nicotine in the regulatory scope of the Tobacco Business Act. The bill was submitted to the National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee for discussion at the end of 2024 and earlier this year, but ultimately did not pass.
Some viewpoints argue that the regulation of synthetic nicotine is urgent. According to the current tobacco control law, only products made from tobacco leaves are defined as tobacco products, so synthetic nicotine products are not classified as tobacco. This places synthetic nicotine products in a regulatory gray area for tobacco-related tax collection and sales laws, leaving even teenagers exposed without any safeguards.
Furthermore, synthetic nicotine is also used as a means of tax evasion. According to statistics from the South Korean Customs, from November 2022 to July 2023, a total of 110 cases of falsely declaring natural nicotine as synthetic nicotine were detected, with a total volume of 44.91 liters, equivalent to an amount that could be used by over 10 million people.
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