BTS’ Jin and Paik Jong-won’s highball drinks cleared of false labeling allegations

BTS member Jin poses with an IGIN Highball, manufactured by Jini's Lamp (Instagram @igin_sns)

Jini’s Lamp, a liquor brand founded by BTS member Jin and celebrity chef and entrepreneur Paik Jong-won, has been cleared of false labeling allegations as of Tuesday.

According to legal sources cited in local media reports, the Hongseong Branch of the Daejeon District Prosecutors’ Office recently made a non-indictment ruling on Paiksooldoga, citing insufficient evidence.

Paiksooldoga is a liquor distribution company launched by Paik. It also distributes IGIN Highball drinks manufactured by Jini’s Lamp, a company founded by the two celebrities in 2022. Jini’s Lamp initially gained attention for its celebrity-backed business model and unique flavor lineup.

The case was first brought to light in September, when an anonymous user posted on a popular online forum that online product information for IGIN Highballs with plum and watermelon flavors varied from what Jini’s Lamp claimed.

According to the user, while the company indicated on its homepage that the products used plum extract from Chile and watermelon extract from the US, the product information available elsewhere indicated the extracts were domestic, “posing a risk in misleading consumers” as a domestic product.

However, prosecutors concluded that Paiksooldoga had clearly labeled the ingredients on its product’s specific listings online, specifying, for example, that its plum concentrate was from Chile and its watermelon concentrate was from the US.

The prosecutors also considered that the products were manufactured locally in Yesan-gun, South Chungcheong Province, further supporting the company’s claim that the drink was domestically produced.