BTS' Jin and celebrity chef Baek Jong-won’s liquor brand in legal trouble: What’s the controversy?

Jini’s Lamp, an agricultural corporation co-founded by BTS member Jin (Kim Seok-jin) and celebrity chef Baek Jong-won, is facing scrutiny following allegations of violating South Korea’s Origin Labelling Act. The controversy erupted after a civic complaint was lodged against the company for allegedly misrepresenting the country of origin of ingredients used in some of its alcoholic beverages.

Complaint sparks probe

According to KBIZoom, on September 22, an individual, identified as A, filed a formal complaint with the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service, accusing Jini’s Lamp of mislabelling products in its IGIN highball series. The complaint specifically pointed to the plum and watermelon flavours, where website listings initially described ingredients as ‘domestic,’ despite official product information showing them as imported.

The complainants argued that such discrepancies could mislead consumers about whether the fruits were sourced in Korea or abroad. According to South Korean law, companies may only label ingredients as domestic if all components - excluding sugar, additives, and water - are entirely sourced within the country.

Products in question

The products under review are the IGIN plum and watermelon highballs, launched last year. On Jini’s Lamp’s official website, the ingredients were correctly listed as “plum concentrate (Chile)” and “watermelon concentrate (USA).” However, some product detail pages carried the incorrect label “domestic.”

Following the complaint, the company revised the wording on its website from “domestic” to “see detailed description.”

Company response

In a statement to Chosun.com on September 24, a Jini’s Lamp representative said, “All Jini’s Lamp products have been verified as compliant with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety regulations, and origin labeling is accurately provided on product labels.”

The spokesperson added: “If an official investigation is requested, we will fully cooperate, and we reiterate that there are no violations regarding origin labeling on the product details themselves.”

They explained that errors had occurred during online sales when product details from other flavour pages were mistakenly posted, but insisted the mistake was quickly corrected.

Regulatory action

The National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service confirmed it would review the complaint in detail. Its statement read: “If violations are found after review, the matter will proceed to investigation and possible referral. Depending on the findings, administrative measures could also be taken. We will examine this thoroughly from start to finish.”

Under Korea’s Origin Labelling Act, confirmed violations can result in prison terms of up to seven years or fines reaching 100 million won (around USD 72,000).

Previous legal troubles

The incident has drawn added attention because Baek Jong-won’s primary business, The Born Korea, was indicted in June over a similar violation. However, Jini’s Lamp has distanced itself from that case.

The company clarified: “JINI’s Lamp is in no way affiliated with The Born Korea. Mr. Baek invested in the project as a private individual. The distributor Yesan Dogga, which has since changed its name to Baeksooldoga, is also an entirely separate legal entity from The Born Korea.”

About Jini’s Lamp

Jini’s Lamp was founded in December 2022 in Yesan County, Chungcheongnam-do, by Jin and Baek as a joint venture. Its first distilled liquor, IGIN, debuted in December 2023. The brand has since expanded into flavoured highball products that have grown popular among young consumers.