Joint venture of Paik Jong-won, BTS's Jin referred to prosecution for highball mislabeling
Published: 21 Nov. 2025, 19:30
![CEO of Theborn Korea Paik Jong-won, left, and BTS member Jin [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/11/21/16a5007b-f82a-4f46-90f3-82ee731e1bc7.jpg)
CEO of Theborn Korea Paik Jong-won, left, and BTS member Jin [NEWS1]
A company established through joint investment by BTS member Jin and restaurateur and CEO of Theborn Korea Paik Jong-won has been referred to prosecutors for allegedly violating Korea’s origin labeling law.
The South Chungcheong office of the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service said Friday that it had referred the company Paiksooldoga and affiliated individuals to prosecutors in September on charges of violating the Act on Origin Labeling of Agricultural and Fishery Products.
Paiksooldoga is accused of falsely labeling the country of origin for some products of the alcoholic beverage IGIN Highball Tonic, manufactured by brewery Jini’s Lamp. Although foreign-made concentrate was used in some batches, the online sales platform listed the ingredient as domestically produced.
There was no issue with the labeling on the actual product itself.
Paiksooldoga, the seller, and Jini’s Lamp, the manufacturer, are both companies jointly invested in and established by Jin and Paik.
In September, suspicions of origin labeling violations began circulating online, prompting some internet users to file complaints. At the time, the companies said the error had occurred only online due to a mistake and that the issue had since been corrected.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JEONG HYE-JEONG [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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