7-Eleven to stop selling Im Chang-jung's Soju Hanjan brand

Singer Im Chang-jung’s premium distilled soju brand Soju Hanjan will no longer be sold once the remaining inventory runs out, following growing suspicions that the singer is involved in a stock manipulation scheme, according to convenience store...

Singer Im Chang-jung poses with bottles of his ″Soju Hanjan″ products at a pop-up store in Sonpa District, souhtern Seoul, on Feb. 26. [NEWS1]

Singer Im Chang-jung's premium distilled soju brand Soju Hanjan will no longer be available at 7-Elevens once the inventory runs out, the convenience store franchise said, following suspicions that Im was involved in stock manipulation.

"We decided to no longer sell Soju Hanjan once the inventory sells out," 7-Eleven said Thursday.

The franchise had partnered up with Im to release the soju brand in February, named after the singer's 2003 hit song of the same name, which translates to "a glass of soju."

Im is said to have participated in choosing the ingredients down to helping with the bottle design. The brand was a huge hit, selling out of the first 100,000 units in a month.

The decision to stop producing more products comes after the singer was suspected to be one of the public figures at the center of a stock manipulation scheme in which over 1,000 investors suffered losses nearing 2 trillion won ($1.5 billion).

Im initially claimed to be a victim, saying that he entrusted money to the key suspect of the case, Ra Deok-yeon, and his investment firm with no knowledge of the scheme.

The public sentiment changed when a news outlet reported on a leaked footage of Im speaking at an event to attract investors hosted by Ra.

In the footage, Im praised Ra's group as a "religion," to which the participants replied, "hallelujah." Im's agency denied accusations that Im encouraged people to invest in Ra's company, though it acknowledged he did make some inappropriate remarks, having been carried away by the mood of the event.

Prosecutors filed an arrest warrant for Ra on Wednesday, alleging Ra violated the Capital Markets Act and the Act on Regulation Of Punishment Of Criminal Proceeds Concealment.

Ra is accused of having manipulated stock prices through matched orders with other manipulators, receiving personal information such as phone numbers and access to securities accounts from investors to trade stocks, such as Seoul City Gas and Samchully, at a predetermined price.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]