Local tobacco-makers and farmers on Thursday questioned the Defense Ministry’s approval of foreign cigarettes on Korean military bases, saying it hurts national pride.

A welfare committee of the ministry approved the sale of foreign tobacco brands for the first time.

They include Marlboro Gold Original by U.S.-based Philip Morris, and Mevius LSS Wind Blue by Japanese maker JTI, according to Defense Ministry sources.


This will be the first time that foreign cigarettes are being sold at post exchange stores, effectively challenging the monopoly of KT&G. The move comes 10 years after the bidding process was opened up to foreign manufacturers in 2006.

The new brands approved by the ministry also includes Raison French Black and Bohem Cigar Slim Fit Brown by KT&G.

The products will be available for two years at PX stores starting from May.

An industry official, however, said that the Korean public won't tolerate the ministry’s approval of the Japanese tobacco brand on military bases in Korea, citing years of territorial disputes between the two countries.

“It will be hard for many Koreans to watch Korean military guards on Dokdo Island smoking Japanese cigarettes,” the official was quoted as saying by Yonhap News Agency.

Farmers said they were opposing the sale of foreign tobacco brands at the military as it would directly curb the sales of KT&G products.

KT&G, the nation’s sole cigarette-maker, is the main buyer of leaf tobacco grown here. Farmers have been protesting against foreign tobacco-makers for not purchasing their products at all.

Some industry officials also raised concerns over the ministry’s decision-making process, saying that questions linger on how it approved the sale of JTI’s Mevius LSS Wind Blue that holds only 0.72 percent of market share.

The ministry has given no reason for selecting the two foreign brands and what standards were applied.

Industry watchers speculate that the decision was a result of continued pressure on the military by foreign tobacco manufacturers, including lawsuits brought by Philip Morris and British American Tobacco.

The two foreign tobacco-makers recently filed separate suits to nullify KT&G’s monopoly on the military bases.

“It could have been difficult for the ministry to keep KT&G as the sole supplier to the military in the face of foreign companies taking legal action,” the official claimed.

“But the ministry appears to have chosen the easy way out by picking just one of the two companies to give an impression that the bidding process was fair and was not made under the pressure of the two taking legal actions," he added.

The ministry denied the market speculation, saying it has nothing to do with the lawsuits.

By Cho Chung-un, Won Ho-jung
(christory@heraldcorp.com) (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)