Creators of Butterless ‘Butter Beer’ Face Trial Amid Controversy

The planning company and its CEO responsible for a contentious ‘butter beer’, which sparked debate for not containing actual butter, have been sent to trial. (Image courtesy of GS25)

SEOUL, Jan. 3 (Korea Bizwire) – The planning company and its CEO responsible for a contentious ‘butter beer’, which sparked debate for not containing actual butter, have been sent to trial.

On December 2, the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office announced the indictment of Virtual Company, the license planning agency behind ‘Beurre’ (French for ‘butter’) beer, and its CEO, Park Yong-in, on December 29 without detention. 

Prosecutors allege that from May 2022 to January of the following year, Virtual Company sold the beer at convenience stores and other outlets without using butter as an ingredient. Despite this, they promoted the product on social media (SNS) and advertising posters as ‘butter beer’, and ‘butter-based’, thereby violating the Food Labeling and Advertising Act. 

The case has drawn additional attention as Virtual Company’s CEO, Park Yong-in, is also a member of the music group Urban Zakapa. 

Upon its launch in September 2022, Beurre beer quickly gained popularity, especially among the MZ generation (Millennials and Generation Z), selling out its initial stock of 200,000 cans within a week.

The controversy surrounding Beurre erupted in March of last year. The Seoul Regional Office of the Food and Drug Administration took issue with the use of the French word for butter, ‘Beurre’, in the product name, despite the beer not containing butter. Consequently, Virtual Company, the beer manufacturer Brewguru, and the distributor GS Retail were reported to the police. 

In response to the government’s allegations, a representative of Brewguru at the time commented, “Just as there’s no bear in Bear Beer and no whale in Whale Snacks, this is an excessive interpretation. Even if we receive an actual penalty, we will continue to clarify our position.” 

In light of the indictment of Virtual Company, the prosecution stated, “We will ensure that a sentence commensurate with the crime is delivered, maintaining the integrity of the prosecution.”

Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)