Urban Zakapa’s Park Yong In received a suspended prison sentence for false advertising of ‘butter beer’.

Urban Zakapa member Park Yong In has been sentenced to a suspended prison term for violating South Korea’s Food Labeling and Advertising Act.

On February 18 KST, the Seoul Eastern District Court’s criminal division (Judge Lee Min Ji) sentenced Park Yong In, CEO of licensing agency Virtual Company, to eight months in prison, suspended for two years. The company itself was also fined 10 million KRW (approximately 7,000 USD).

The case centers around a beer product falsely marketed as containing butter. Between May 2022 and January 2023, Park’s company sold beer in convenience stores and other retail outlets, branding it as “butter beer” despite not actually using butter in the ingredients. Promotional materials, including social media posts and posters, suggested that butter was a key ingredient.

The court ruled:

“Although the product did not contain butter, the defendants prominently displayed the word ‘BEURRE’ (French for butter) and advertised it as having a butter-based flavor. This misled consumers into believing that butter was an actual ingredient, constituting false and exaggerated advertising.”

The court further noted that the company’s response after the indictment exacerbated the issue:

“The defendants damaged consumer trust and disrupted fair trade. Even after being charged, they attempted to avoid controversy by falsely claiming that all their products contained butter.”

However, the court also considered mitigating factors such as Park’s clean prior criminal record and the company’s corrective measures after the violation was identified.

This resulted in a suspended sentence rather than immediate imprisonment.

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