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[Herald Economy = Reporter Na Eun-jung] Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin will issue a second public apology on May 26 after controversy over Starbucks Korea’s “Tank Day” promotion spiraled out of control.
On May 24, Shinsegae announced that Chairman Chung intends to apologize in person to “everyone hurt by Starbucks Korea’s inappropriate marketing on the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement memorial day.” The company said he will deliver a public apology at 9 a.m. on May 26 at the Chosun Palace in Gangnam, Seoul, and will publish the results of the group’s internal investigation into the incident.
Starbucks faced backlash after running a May 18 promotion called “Tank Day,” the anniversary of the Gwangju uprising. The company sold a tank-themed tumbler series, labeled the promotion “Tank Day,” and used phrases such as “thud on the desk,” a line that evoked the police’s false explanations surrounding the 1987 torture death of Park Jong-chul.
Chung dismissed Son Jeong-hyun, chief executive of Starbucks Korea (SCK Company), and the executives responsible the day the controversy broke. On May 19, he issued a public apology, saying the marketing was “inappropriate and inexcusable, even on a memorial day.”
President Lee Jae-myung criticized the promotion on social media, calling it “an inhuman act that denies the community, basic human rights, and democratic values of the Republic of Korea,” which intensified the backlash. The controversy has not subsided, particularly after critics noted that Starbucks released a “Siren Classic Mug” on April 16 last year — the 10th anniversary of the Sewol ferry disaster — and that Chung had frequently posted the slogan “Destroy Communism” on his social media accounts.
Meanwhile, the civic group People’s Livelihood Countermeasures Committee (Seominwi) filed a complaint against Chung and former CEO Son, and the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency is investigating the matter.
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