The geographic market for soju was defined as the national market except the five regions including Busan.
First, the issue in the case was whether to define the geographic market for soju as North Jeolla Province given that Hite Distillers, an affiliate of Hite Brewery, produced soju (brand name: Hite 21) in North Jeolla Province, since it sold the relevant products mainly in that region.Relating to this issue, the KFTC concluded that the geographic market should not be defined as North Jeolla Province