Objective. To assess the effect of alcohol consumption status at baseline and changes in alcohol consumption for the follow-up period on incident metabolic syndrome (MetS) and each component of MetS in Korean men Research design and methods. This study included 4,505 men without MetS at baseline who were followed for an average of 3 years. Subjects were divided into four categories according to alcohol consumption status at baseline and changes in status for the follow-up period. Results. The overall incidence of new MetS was 10.6%: 7.0% in the non-drinkers, 10.3% in the light-drinkers, 13.8% in the moderate-drinkers, and 15.6% in the heavy-drinkers (p<0.001). At follow-up, we found incidences of 7.7% in the non-drinkers, 5.7% in the new-drinkers, 9.3% in the ex-drinkers, and 11.5% in the continuous-drinkers (p=0.003). In the multivariate regression model, all three drinker groups (light, moderate, heavy) had significantly higher ORs for the incidence of MetS than the non-drinkers (OR[95% CI]: 1.51[1.06-2.13] in the light-drinkers, 1.71[1.14-2.55] in the moderate-drinkers, and 2.11[1.25-3.56] in the heavy-drinkers). Whereas the ORs in the continuous-drinkers showed a trend toward the risk of developing MetS(1.47[0.99-2.19]) compared with the non-drinkers, the new-drinkers and the ex-drinkers did not significantly increase. Conclusions. Alcohol consumption of any amount at baseline increases the incidence of MetS in Korean men in a dose-response manner. Moderate to heavy continuous-drinking appears to be associated with an increased risk for developing MetS in this population, which suggests that non-drinkers should maintain their alcohol consumption status to attenuate the risk for incidence of MetS.