A popular male singer has been sentenced to prison during the first hearing of his appeal on charges of violating the Act on Labeling and Advertising of Foods, etc.
On April 29, KST, the Seoul Eastern District Court Criminal Appeals Division 3 held a hearing of an appeal involving Park Yong In, a member of the popular group Urban Zakapa.
Park, who is also the CEO of Virtue Company, is accused of violating South Korea’s food labeling laws over misleading ‘butter beer’ marketing. The singer and his company were earlier indicted on charges of advertising four types of beer under the labels of “butter beer” and “butter base,” giving the impression that butter was one of the ingredients used to make the product. They sold these beers at convenience stores from June 2022 to January 2023.
Park was eventually sentenced to eight months in prison, with a two-year probation, and fined Virtue Company ₩10.0 million KRW (about $6,720 USD) for exaggerated advertising. The prosecution appealed the sentence and, on April 29, requested a one-year prison term, arguing that the false advertising affected a large number of customers and had earned the company millions of won in revenue. The sentencing will be held on June 26.
Meanwhile, Park is the founder and CEO of Virtue Company Inc., which acts as a licensing agency and is also involved in food branding. In addition to butter beer, last year, a brand under this company was embroiled in controversy over allegations that its kimchi also violated the advertising laws of the company. However, the case ended with some administrative penalty, and Park’s agency stated that it was caused by a mistake where the manufacturer entered the wrong product codes for some of the items.
