The complainants in this case argued that vodka is like soju.415 Korea disagreed.416 We note
that there are many similarities between vodka and soju and that these are sufficient to establish that
the products are directly competitive or substitutable. However, as the Appellate Body found in
Japan – Taxes on Alcoholic Beverages II, the concept of "likeness" in Article III:2, first sentence, is to
be narrowly construed.417 The question is whether the products are sufficiently close in nature that
they fit within this narrow category