'Butter beer without butter': Urban Zakapa's Park Yong-in speaks out after suspended sentence

Urban Zakapa member Park Yong-in has broken his silence after receiving a suspended sentence on appeal for advertising and selling a beer falsely marketed as containing butter.

Park took to his social media accounts Wednesday to say the litigation over the "butter beer" case, which had dragged on for more than three years, had finally concluded. "I am truly sorry and apologetic to the many people who felt uncomfortable because of my shortcomings, to my fellow members who worried alongside me, to the fans who cheered me on regardless, and to my family who cried with me every day," he wrote.

Speaking publicly for the first time since the appeals court ruling, Park added a personal reflection. "It makes me a little sad that I'm about to become a 40-year-old ajeossi with a 10-year-old child, but these days I try to live each day with a happy heart," he wrote. "I'm not sure why tears are flowing as I write this, but I think it's probably because of the long-held guilt I couldn't shake and the gratitude I couldn't fully put into words."

Park and his company Virtue Company were indicted on charges of false advertising after selling four varieties of beer at convenience stores and other outlets between June 2022 and January 2023. Despite not using butter as an ingredient, they promoted the products on social media and marketing posters using the labels "butter beer," "BUTTER BEER" and "butter base," implying butter was used.

The first trial sentenced Park to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, and fined Virtue Company 10 million won ($6,460). The appeals court upheld both rulings.