Park Yong-in (37), a member of Urban Zakapa who planned and advertised the butter beer that sparked controversy over its "butterless" label, was sentenced to a suspended prison term in the first trial.
On the 18th, Lee Min-ji, a judge at the Seoul Eastern District Court's 12th Criminal Court, sentenced Park Yong-in, the representative of the licensing planning company Virtual Company and a member of Urban Zakapa, to eight months in prison with a two-year suspension for violating the food labeling and advertising law.
The court also imposed a fine of 10 million won on Virtual Company, which was indicted alongside Park.
The court stated, "The defendants advertised that the product contained a butter base with specific flavors, despite the fact that no butter was included, prominently displaying the word 'beurre' (BEURRE·butter)," and added, "This misled consumers into believing that the product contained butter, which constitutes false and exaggerated advertising."
The court further explained, "The defendants not only undermined consumer trust and disrupted fair transaction practices but also released a false statement after being indicted that they had added butter to all products to avoid controversy," while noting, "The determination of the sentence took into consideration that Park has not faced any other criminal punishment apart from the fine, and that the violation issues have been rectified."
From May 2022 to January 2023, Park and others were indicted for advertising their beer as "butter beer," "BUTTER BEER," and "butter base" on social media and promotional posters, despite not using butter as a material in their products sold at convenience stores.
The Seoul Metropolitan Food and Drug Administration criminally charged them, stating that using the French word for butter, "beurre," in the product name was problematic, despite the fact that no butter was included in the materials and supplies.