How to Apply for a Liquor Sales Business License — Specific Liquor Wholesale and Specialty Retail Requirements, 22㎡ Warehouse, Adding Liquor Sales to Corporate Purposes

Procedure

1. 1. Choose the license type and the store

   A specific liquor wholesale license covers only designated products, such as takju, yakju, cheongju, traditional liquor and beer made by small-scale liquor manufacturers, bought from manufacturers and sold wholesale. A specialty retail license allows face-to-face sales of liquor other than ethanol to consumers at the licensed store, and liquor paid for face-to-face at the store may be delivered at the consumer's request. Licenses are issued per store, so opening another shop or selling at a different place such as a festival site requires a separate license for that place.

2. 2. Check warehouse and store requirements and grounds for refusal

   A specific liquor wholesaler must have a warehouse of 22㎡ or more, and storage containers and insect-proof facilities if it handles liquor that is not bottled. As a rule, a new sales license cannot be issued for a manufacturing site or store that already holds another liquor license, and licenses are also restricted for places not separated or partitioned from facilities used for purposes other than liquor sales. Grounds for refusal, such as national or local tax arrears, less than 2 years since a license revocation, or less than 5 years since a prison sentence for violating the Punishment of Tax Offenses Act or the Food Sanitation Act, also apply to the officers of a corporation.

3. 3. Prepare corporate purposes and attachments

   A corporation attaches its articles of incorporation, minutes of the general meeting of shareholders or board of directors, and a list of shareholders and officers, so if liquor sales is not among the business purposes, the articles must first be amended by a special resolution of the general meeting (two-thirds or more of the voting rights of shareholders present and one-third or more of total issued shares) and the change of purpose registered. If the store or warehouse is leased, prepare a copy of the lease, and for a joint business, a copy of the partnership agreement; specific liquor wholesalers also submit a credit information report issued by the comprehensive credit information concentration agency. Business registration under the Value-Added Tax Act is a license requirement for liquor retail.

4. 4. Apply to the competent tax office

   Enter the license type and warehouse area on the liquor sales business license application and submit it to the tax office with jurisdiction over the store; it can also be filed through Hometax. The tax office reviews the application and grounds for refusal and may inspect the store and warehouse on site, and the processing period on the form is 40 days. The fee is 50,000 won for specific liquor wholesale and 30,000 won for liquor retail, paid with revenue stamps.

5. 5. Comply with license conditions

   The license designates the types of liquor that may be sold and the business scope, and violating the scope can lead to revocation. Specific liquor wholesalers must sell liquor for entertainment and restaurant use to entertainment and restaurant businesses and liquor for household use to liquor retailers, exchanging a liquor sales statement or tax invoice for each sale. To relocate a store, file a relocation report with the tax office of the new location at least 15 days before the planned move.

Required documents

• Liquor sales business license application (Enforcement Rule of the Liquor License Act, Form No. 6, stating license type and warehouse area)
• Copy of the lease (if the store or warehouse is leased)
• Articles of incorporation, minutes of the general meeting of shareholders or board of directors, and list of shareholders and officers (corporations)
• Copy of the partnership agreement (joint business)
• Credit information report (specific liquor wholesale, issued by the comprehensive credit information concentration agency)
• Floor plans of the store and warehouse and other documents showing the license requirements are met
• Revenue stamps (50,000 won for specific liquor wholesale, 30,000 won for liquor retail)
• Letter of authorization (when filed by an agent)

Fees

Generally in the range of several hundred thousand won to around 1,000,000 won across the industry. We provide a quote after consultation, depending on the license type, whether corporate purposes need to be amended, and the scope of the warehouse and store review. Government fees (revenue stamps) and registration costs for the amendment are separate.

See fees and official charges for this service →

Legal basis and review date

• Liquor License Act, Article 5
• Liquor License Act, Article 7
• Enforcement Decree of the Liquor License Act, Article 8 and Appendix 3
• Enforcement Decree of the Liquor License Act, Article 9
• Enforcement Decree of the Liquor License Act, Article 10
• Enforcement Rule of the Liquor License Act, Article 2 and Appendix
• Enforcement Rule of the Liquor License Act, Article 11
• Enforcement Rule of the Liquor License Act, Article 12 and Form No. 6
• Liquor Tax Administration Regulation (National Tax Service directive), Articles 12, 13, 14, 19 and 20, Annexed Tables 1 and 3
• Public Notice on Delegated Orders for Liquor Shipment and Sales (National Tax Service), Articles 6 and 10
• Public Notice on Designated Places and Areas Restricted for Liquor Sales Licenses (National Tax Service), Article 2
• Punishment of Tax Offenses Act, Article 6
• Commercial Act, Articles 433 and 434

Checked against the statutes on 2026-10-12

Statutes and public notices change, so each case needs to be checked individually. Statute titles are given in English for reference. The Korean statutes are the authoritative text.

Check these first

• Selling liquor without a license is punishable by imprisonment of up to 3 years or a fine of up to 30,000,000 won (or three times the equivalent liquor tax, if greater) under Article 6 of the Punishment of Tax Offenses Act, so start sales only after receiving the license.
• When a licensed corporation changes its representative or officers, it must report to the competent tax office within 30 days from the registration date, so include officer changes in license management.

Frequently asked questions