BTS' Jin, Paik Jong Won’s highball brand win legal battle over false labeling allegations
Jini's Lamp, a liquor brand by BTS' Jin and celebrity chef Paik Jong Won, has been cleared of false labeling allegations.
Citing local media, The Korea Herald reported that the Hongseong Branch of the Daejeon District Prosecutors’ Office made a non-indictment ruling on Paiksooldoga on Dec. 23, due to insufficient evidence.
Paiksooldoga is a liquor distribution firm established by Paik. The company also handles the distribution of IGIN Highball beverages produced by Jini’s Lamp, a venture co-founded by Paik and Jin in 2022.
The false labeling allegations started in September when an anonymous user posted on an online forum that there were discrepancies in the product descriptions of IGIN Highballs and claims made by Jini's Lamp, specifically regarding plum and watermelon flavors.
The user claimed that although the company’s website stated the products contained plum extract sourced from Chile and watermelon extract from the United States, other product information described the extracts as domestically produced, which could potentially mislead consumers into believing the products were local.
For their part, prosecutors said that Paiksooldoga had clearly disclosed ingredient origins in the product’s detailed online listings, noting that the plum concentrate was sourced from Chile and the watermelon concentrate from the US.
Prosecutors also noted that the beverages were produced in Yesan-gun, South Chungcheong Province, which further supported the company's claim that the products were domestically made.
IGIN was launched by Paik and Jin in December 2024. Its lineup includes ready-to-drink beverages like apple-infused gin in two variants, the Dalkom Tonic (watermelon) and Saekom Tonic (plum).
It was launched in the Philippines last October.