Key Points
- Korea’s cigarette price has been frozen for 11 years.
- A poll found 63% support higher tobacco taxes.
- The OECD average is more than twice Korea’s price.
- Academics support regular incremental tax hikes.
2Firsts, June 22, 2026 — According to Chosun Biz, debate over higher cigarette prices and tobacco taxes has resurfaced in South Korea. Health and Welfare Minister Jung Eun-kyeong said at a press briefing that the country needs to use both price and non-price policies in response to e-cigarettes, flavored cigarettes and synthetic nicotine, and noted that Korea’s cigarette prices remain low compared with major Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries.
Price Policy Returns to the Agenda
Jung said at a June 11 press briefing that the Sixth National Health Promotion Comprehensive Plan for 2026-2030 includes a review of raising the health promotion levy, but that no specific policy has yet been reviewed. She said price policy is linked to a higher public burden and therefore requires sufficient public input and social discussion.
South Korea last raised cigarette prices sharply in 2015, when the average price per pack increased from 2,500 won to 4,500 won. Prices have been frozen for 11 years since then. Over the same period, consumer prices rose by about 20%, lowering the real price of cigarettes. Chosun Biz reported that the OECD average cigarette price in 2023 was about 9,869 won, more than double Korea’s current level of 4,500 won per pack.
The government’s Sixth National Health Promotion Comprehensive Plan, finalized in March, includes a direction to raise cigarette prices by increasing the health promotion levy toward WHO and OECD-related average levels. Earlier Korean media reports said that if prices are adjusted toward the OECD average over the medium to long term, the current 4,500 won price could rise into the 10,000 won range.
However, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said in an explanatory release on June 14 that raising cigarette prices is an issue requiring sufficient social debate and is not currently under specific review. The ministry said it would seek opinions from experts and society if necessary.
Public Support for Higher Taxes
The report cited a nationwide Hankook Research survey conducted around World No Tobacco Day on May 31, which found that 63% of respondents supported raising cigarette taxes. The survey also found that 79% of respondents viewed higher cigarette prices as the most effective policy for lowering smoking rates, while 66% said a cigarette tax hike would effectively reduce smoking.
On a proposal to raise the price of a pack to about 10,000 won, roughly the OECD average, 53% of respondents preferred first increasing the price to about 6,000 won to reflect inflation and then raising it gradually. The report said this suggests the public is more supportive of phased adjustments that secure social acceptance than of a long-term price freeze or a single sharp increase.
South Korea’s tobacco-control policy is also facing a changing product environment. Jung referred to the need to respond to e-cigarettes, flavored cigarettes and synthetic nicotine. The Sixth National Health Promotion Comprehensive Plan also extends tobacco-control attention beyond conventional cigarettes to other tobacco and nicotine products, showing a policy shift toward broader nicotine-product management.
From a consumer-price perspective, the long freeze in cigarette prices has weakened the real-world effect of price policy on smoking control. If the government adopts a phased adjustment in the future, the focus may be not only on a one-time increase but also on a longer-term mechanism linked to inflation or social costs.
Smoking Costs and Academic Proposals
One backdrop to renewed discussion of cigarette price increases is the rising socio-economic cost of smoking. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s study on smoking-attributable deaths and socio-economic burden showed that the socio-economic cost of direct smoking rose for five consecutive years, from 12.1913 trillion won in 2019 to 14.9517 trillion won in 2023.
The study defines socio-economic cost as the sum of direct costs, such as medical and transportation expenses arising from smoking-related diseases, and indirect costs, such as productivity losses caused by premature death and medical use. According to the figures cited in the report, direct smoking-related socio-economic costs in 2023 included 5.8087 trillion won in direct costs and 9.1431 trillion won in indirect costs.
Academics have also emphasized the need for regular, gradual price adjustments. Heo Won, a professor at the University of Seoul School of Law, said at a Korean Local Tax Association seminar on June 11 that the current cigarette price has remained at 4,500 won for more than 10 years since the 2015 increase, and that considering inflation over the period, the real price of cigarettes can be seen as having fallen to about 3,000 won.
Heo said the core function of cigarette taxation is its corrective-tax effect, meaning that social costs such as medical expenses and productivity losses caused by smoking are reflected in prices to curb smoking. He argued that as real prices decline, it becomes more difficult for cigarette taxes to achieve their policy goal of reducing smoking. He said regular, flat increases every one to two years are needed to prevent real price declines and maintain the original purpose of the corrective tax.
For South Korea’s tobacco industry, renewed discussion of higher cigarette taxes could affect not only conventional cigarette pricing but also regulation of heated tobacco products, e-cigarettes, flavored tobacco and synthetic nicotine. If Korea establishes a more stable price-adjustment mechanism, tax structures, retail prices, consumer substitution patterns and corporate product portfolios across tobacco and nicotine categories could all be affected.
At present, the South Korean government has not announced a specific cigarette price increase plan or implementation timetable. The policy remains at the stage of social discussion and review. Key issues to watch include whether the Ministry of Health and Welfare submits a formal tax adjustment proposal, whether the National Assembly takes up legislation, whether price increases are linked to inflation, and whether e-cigarettes and synthetic nicotine are brought into parallel regulation.
（Cover Image source: Chosun Biz / Ministry of Health and Welfare of South Korea ）
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