Park Yong-in of the group Urban Zakapa, who was previously criticized for false advertising of ‘butterless butter beer’, has made a mistake in the process of selling kimchi and has received an administrative sanction.
On the 23rd, the company Virtual Company, represented by Park Yong-in, confirmed to Maeil Business Newspaper that they had indeed received an administrative sanction. A representative stated, “The kimchi products were produced through a consignment production contract with another company. This issue occurred due to a mistake by that company,” and added, “We have changed all the incorrectly reported item manufacturing report numbers for the problematic products.”
On the same day, Sports Dong-A reported, citing the Food Safety Information Agency, that Virtual Company’s ‘Yuyimi’ brand kimchi sold on online shopping malls violated the law regarding labeling and advertising of food products.
According to the media, ‘Yuyimi’ incorrectly labeled the ‘item manufacturing report number’ while selling aged kimchi on platforms like Naver Shopping Mall.
In response, the Food Safety Information Agency issued a corrective order for the products in accordance with the law regarding labeling and advertising of food products.
Previously, Park Yong-in was sentenced to 8 months in prison, suspended for 2 years, for violating the law regarding labeling and advertising of food products while planning and advertising ‘butterless butter beer’. The company Virtual Company, which was also indicted alongside Park Yong-in, was fined 10 million won. Park Yong-in is currently appealing the ruling.
From May 2022 to January of last year, Park Yong-in and Virtual Company had been advertising products such as ‘butter beer’ and ‘butter base’ using the term ‘butter’ through convenience stores. The butter beer became very popular among the MZ generation, selling out its initial stock of 200,000 cans within just a week of its release. However, it became an issue as the actual raw materials did not contain butter, leading to an investigation by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.
As a result, Virtual Company and Park Yong-in were indicted without detention in December 2023 for violating the law regarding labeling and advertising of food products.
Park Yong-in debuted in 2009 as a member of the mixed group Urban Zakapa and has been loved for several hit songs.
