Prosecutors on Monday confirmed the death of former Jinro Group chairman Jang Jin-ho, and officially ceased the arraignment process on him over four suspected irregularities.

The announcement of the death of the father of the nation’s best-selling Cass beer and Chamisul soju came more than a month after his funeral was held in Beijing and his bereaved family set up a small mourning place in Asan Medical Center in Seoul.

Investigators said that because the surviving family did not register his death with the local administration, the confirmation took more time than usual. His family said that Jang died of a heart attack on April 3. 

Jang’s life pretty much sums up the Korean chaebol’s fortunes: He made Jinro the country’s 24th-largest business conglomerate, but later was dragged down to criminal status.

Jang was born in 1952. His father Jang Hak-yup started the company as a small local brewery, but in 1972 changed the name to Jinro and began the transformation that led it to becoming Korea’s leading liquor firm.

After the senior Jang passed away in 1985, Jin-ho had to fight his uncle and cousin for the company crown, finally being inaugurated in 1988.

Soon after, he announced a business diversification plan and forayed into new areas, including retail, construction, electronics, pharmaceuticals, food, finance, cable TV and more. He had businesses spanning China and some Southeast Asian countries. The success of Chamisul, which is still the best-selling soju in the country, as well as Cass beer launched in 1994 also helped Jinro become one of the most important companies in Korea.

Jang is also known to have sought to associate with political figures. He was sentenced to two years in prison for creating a slush fund for former President Chun Doo-hwan. In 2013, he also alleged in an interview that he had given 50 billion won ($45 million) to former President Kim Dae-jung.

But all that came to an end in 1997, when the country was hit by the Asian financial crisis.

Jinro, which had a total of 3.7 trillion won in debt, went bankrupt. Major businesses were sold ― Jinro-Coors Beer went to Oriental Brewery, Jinro Valentine was sold to Pernod Ricard and Jinro Construction went to Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.

Moreover, Jang was indicted for creating a slush fund of more than 600 billion won and illegal bookkeeping in order to get bank loans. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison probated for five years in 2004. Jang fled to Cambodia in 2005. He is said to have naturalized in Cambodia and run businesses there ranging from a casino to banking, among other ventures, but he moved to China in 2010, allegedly because his relations with Cambodian officials fell apart. He sought a career revival in China, but did not suceed.

In 2013, he even sued a former Jinro official to return 400 billion won Jang had hid under the official’s name. News reports claim that Jang felt mistreated.

“The day before his death, Jang called up his friend in Korea and said everyone misunderstood him and that he was very upset. He was apparently very drunk,” MoneyToday reported.

Jang is survived by his wife and two children.

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)