Japan & South Korea: Suntory CEO hoping for increase in whisky consumption in South Korea this year

The head of Suntory Holdings is hopeful that highball consumption in South Korea will end up expanding more than twofold this year on the back of a craze for the drink driven by young consumers choosing the company's whisky as an ingredient, Nikkei Asia reported on December 10.

"We'd like to at least achieve a double value of highball sales in [South] Korea with Jim Beam at a core, thanks to the concerted efforts made by the Korean team," Chief Executive Officer Takeshi Niinami said in an interview with Nikkei Asia during a recent visit to South Korea.

Drinking highballs -- which are a type of cocktail composed of a spirit and a carbonated beverage -- with Japanese whisky has become a hot trend among South Korean millennials since the coronavirus pandemic. The global health crisis caused South Koreans to spend more time at home, creating demand for the easily made drinks. Local celebrities also rode the wave by introducing their own recipes.

Experts say that Suntory benefited from the popularity by offering its signature Kakubin blend -- as well as its U.S.-made Jim Beam bourbon whisky -- at reasonable prices compared to Scotch-producing rivals.

Niinami said that South Korean consumers' enthusiasm for the company's spirits is so strong that it could not meet it in full, suggesting that sales could have been even higher were it not for "many constraints" still existing on supply.

He apologized for being unable to do so but vowed to fill the gap.

"I'll try my best to meet the demand of Korea," he said.

Suntory declined to give sales figures for South Korea.

The company blends Kakubin in Japan, while its U.S. subsidiary, Beam Suntory, distills Jim Beam in Kentucky. It usually takes at least five to six years to make them, Niinami said.

The chief executive also stressed the company's role in connecting Japan and South Korea.

Relations have long been beset by disputes over a range of historical issues stemming from Japan's colonization of the Korean Peninsula in the early 20th century. But over the past quarter century in particular, an intense cultural exchange in the form of music, films, television dramas and animation has gathered pace even amid occasional political and legal tensions.

"Not only K-pop ... consumption [of highballs] itself is underlining connectivity, connectedness between [the] two countries," said Niinami, referring to South Korean music "Culture brings people together. I think this is a huge demonstration" of that, he added.

Niinami, who also advises Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on economic matters, said that Tokyo's relations with Seoul have now reached a level of interconnectedness that cannot be undone.

"Whatever happened in the past, we can overcome and we are overcoming," he said. "I think we like each other. We respect the culture of Korea and the Korean people respect the drinking and the food culture [of Japan]."

Niinami also said new technologies can offer fresh business opportunities for the beverage company. He said, for example, that the metaverse could give people the chance to drink virtually with historical figures.

"Drinking creates a fun time," he said, whether it be in person with others or virtually. "So you might be able to drink with, maybe, historical figures," he said, citing how artificial intelligence could, through analyzing their words and behavior, make them compelling drinking partners.

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