According to news.nate, the import volume of e - cigarette liquids in South Korea has been increasing year by year. However, synthetic nicotine, which accounts for a large share of the e - cigarette market, is in a legal regulatory void, and clear management measures are urgently needed.
According to the import and export trade statistics released by the Korea Customs Service on April 21, the import value of e - cigarette liquids last year was 85.64 million US dollars (approximately 121.5 billion Korean won), a 39.5% increase compared to 2023 (60.92 million US dollars, approximately 96.4 billion Korean won). Since it reached 50.91 million US dollars (approximately 72.2 billion Korean won) in 2022, the import value of e - cigarette liquids has been increasing year by year.
The import volume this year has also exceeded the level of 2024. In the first quarter of 2025, the import value reached 17.96 million US dollars (approximately 25.4 billion Korean won), an 8.5% increase compared to the same period in 2024 (16.55 million US dollars, approximately 23.4 billion Korean won).
The increase in the import volume of e - cigarette liquids seems to be related to the expanding demand for e - cigarettes using synthetic nicotine. Since synthetic nicotine is not supervised by the Tobacco Business Act, it can be sold online or through vending machines. For this reason, some analysts believe that this has led to a surge in the demand for e - cigarettes among consumers mainly composed of teenagers.
This trend is consistent with the overall trend of increased e - cigarette sales in the recent tobacco market. According to "Tobacco Market Trends" released by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance of South Korea, the total domestic tobacco sales volume in South Korea in 2024 was 3.53 billion packs, a 2.2% decrease compared to the previous year (3.61 billion packs). The share of heated tobacco was 18.4%. This proportion increased from 2.2% in 2017 to 10.5% in 2019 and is expected to reach 16.9% in 2023. If atomized e - cigarettes, which mainly rely on imports, are also included, the market share of e - cigarettes may be higher than that statistically reported by the government.
Currently, the South Korean National Assembly is deliberating on a bill to include synthetic nicotine in the scope of supervision of the Tobacco Business Act. This bill was submitted to the National Assembly's Strategy and Finance Committee for discussion at the end of 2024 and the beginning of this year, but it ultimately failed to pass.
Some viewpoints believe that regulations related to synthetic nicotine are imminent. According to the current Tobacco Business Act, only products made from tobacco leaves are defined as tobacco products. Therefore, synthetic nicotine products are not classified as tobacco. This has left synthetic nicotine products in a regulatory void regarding tobacco - related tax collection, sales, and other relevant laws. They are even exposed to teenagers without any protection.
In addition, synthetic nicotine is also used as a tool for tax evasion. The Korea Customs Service seized 110 cases (with a total volume of 449,100 milliliters) of misreporting natural nicotine as synthetic nicotine from November 2022 to July 2023. This amount is equivalent to what can be used by more than 10 million people.
电子雾化与HNB产品都是新型电子产品，结构虽小，却融合应用多种材料、表面处理、芯片电子等技术工艺，而且雾化技术一直在不断更迭，供应链在逐步完善，为了促进供应链企业间有一个良好的对接交流，艾邦搭建产业微信群交流平台，欢迎加入；Vape e-cigarettes (VAPE) and Heat-Not-Burn e-cigarettes (HNB) are both emerging electronic products. Despite their compact size, they integrate various materials, surface treatment technologies, chip electronics, and other advanced technical processes. Moreover, atomization technology is constantly evolving and the supply chain is being progressively perfected. To facilitate good communication and networking among supply chain enterprises, Aibang has established an industry WeChat group communication platform and warmly welcomes interested enterprises to join.
English 
Chinese