The agricultural corporation “Genie’s Lamp,” jointly established through investment by BTS Jin and culinary entrepreneur Baek Jong-won, has been reported to the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service (NAQS).
According to TenAsia on the 23rd, on the 22nd, an individual identified as “A” filed a complaint with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs via the People’s Sinmungo system, accusing Genie’s Lamp of violating the Origin Labeling Act. Regarding IGIN’s watermelon- and plum-flavored highballs, A alleged that Genie’s Lamp had broken origin labeling laws by possibly deceiving customers about the ingredients’ place of origin.
The National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service (NAQS), under the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, has launched an investigation through its Yesan office. A representative from the Yesan office stated: “After investigating, if there are violations, we will conduct an inquiry and transfer the case. Depending on the violation, administrative action will also be taken. We will review the matter from start to finish.”
It was confirmed that while Genie’s Lamp correctly labeled the products’ packaging to indicate the use of foreign raw materials—such as plum concentrate (from Chile) and watermelon concentrate (from the United States)—some product information sections on their website incorrectly listed the origin as “domestic.” This raised concerns that consumers using the website could be misled into believing that the IGIN highball watermelon and plum flavors were entirely made from domestic ingredients.
According to the Enforcement Decree of the Origin Labeling Act, Article 5, Paragraph 1 [Appendix 1], processed agricultural and marine products may only be uniformly labeled as “domestic” if the origins of all raw materials (excluding water, food additives, and sugars) are domestic. Furthermore, any false or misleading indication of origin can result in up to seven years of imprisonment or a fine of up to 100 million KRW.
Previously, in December 2022, BTS Jin partnered with Baek Jong-won to establish Genie’s Lamp, headquartered in Yesan County, South Chungcheong Province. Genie’s Lamp is in charge of manufacturing IGIN, while liquor distribution was handled by Yesandoga, an affiliate of Baek Jong-won’s The Born Korea.
Regarding the current issue, a Genie’s Lamp representative briefly commented: “We are checking the matter,” refraining from further remarks.
