[Exclusive]Urban Zakapa Park Yong-in to court on April 29th..Second Round of Butter Beer Litigation

*This content was translated by AI.

After Park Yong-in, a member of the mixed group Urban Zakapa, was indicted in the aftermath of the "butter-free butter beer" controversy and sentenced to probation, the appeals court will begin in April.

The 3rd Criminal Division (appeal) (c) of the Seoul Eastern District Court will hold the first trial of Park Yong-in's appeal on April 29 on charges of violating the Food Labeling and Advertising Act.

Earlier on February 18, the Seoul Eastern District Court sentenced Park Yong-in to eight months in prison and two years of probation. In addition, Park Yong-in was fined 10 million won for Virtue Company, which was represented by Park Yong-in.

However, it was handed over to the second trial on February 24 when the prosecution filed an appeal against the first trial's ruling.

Virtue Company is known as a licensing agency that planned and advertised BEURRE (butter) beer, also called butter beer. According to the prosecution, Virtue Company and others are accused of selling beer at convenience stores from May 2022 to January last year and advertising it as if it used butter as a raw material, but not as a raw material.

Virtue Company was found to have promoted the product as 'Butter Beer', 'Butter Beer', and 'Butter Base' through SNS and promotional posters.

In response, the Seoul Regional Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) filed a complaint with the police against Virtue Company, liquor manufacturer Buruguru, and distributor GS Retail in March 2023. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety considered that it was an act of false and exaggerated advertising to use Bör, which means butter in French, in the product name without adding butter to the beer.

In this regard, Park Yong-in said in a lengthy article, "We planned beer with the goal of providing consumers with a new sensory experience. In line with this plan, we developed a product with a soft and greasy flavor in the beer, and in the process, many people said that it has a soft flavor like butter," he said. "We introduced that you can feel a soft flavor like butter in this beer." This was an expression to emphasize the characteristics of the product, just like introducing that even if the ingredients are not actually included in favorite foods such as liquor and coffee, you can feel the flavors of flowers, fruits, chocolate, nuts, and trees," he explained.

"Thankfully, our beer was chosen by consumers in a short period of time, which led to some controversy over this expression. This beer is only for adult consumers, and the raw materials are accurately marked in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations. Nevertheless, the company has already immediately changed the advertising text of butter beer to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings and further controversy under the guidance of related agencies, and added butter to all products produced afterwards. We will fully explain that we did not try to mislead consumers in the future trial process and make up for the shortcomings," he stressed.

At the same time, Park Yong-in said, "Once again, I apologize for causing concern to many people who care about our Virtue Company. We will continue to do our best to satisfy consumers," he added.

At the time, the first trial court said, "Park Yong-in seems to have planned the product inspired by butter beer in the novel 'Harry Potter,' but Universal Studios sells butter-infused drinks and consumers seem to share butter beer recipes out of curiosity. Adding to Park Yong-in's recognition and fame, there is a possibility that consumers may misunderstand that butter actually went in while watching advertisements, he said. "Buruguru, the manufacturer who produced and supplied beer, also filed a severe petition with the prosecution and stated, "It is physically impossible to put butter in beer, and it is not possible to use butter beer and butter beer expressions." In this regard, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety notified Buruguru of administrative disposition for one month of suspension of beer production in March 2023.

"Consumers perceive it as butter beer, and Harry Potter's beer actually contains butter. Park Yong-in was quite intentional because he was fully aware that the product did not contain butter and could be problematic, he said. "After the indictment, on January 3, 2024, he issued a false statement saying that butter was added to the product to avoid further controversy and spread to the public. The attitude is bad," he said.

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*This content was translated by AI.