Starbucks Korea Faces Backlash Over ‘Tank Day’ Marketing Scandal

Translation resultShinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin will make a public apology over Starbucks Korea’s controversial marketing tied to the May 18 Gwangju Uprising, the company said on May 25. Chung is scheduled to deliver his apology on May 26 at the Chosun Palace Hotel in Seoul’s Gangnam district and will personally present the results of the group’s internal investigation.On May 18, Starbucks Korea ran an event titled “Dante·Tank·Nasuday” and used the tagline “Tank Day,” which critics said recalled the military tanks deployed during the May 18 uprising. The event page also included the phrase “Thud on the desk!” — wording many said evoked the security headquarters’ concealment statement after the 1987 torture death of Park Jong-chul.Chung dismissed Starbucks Korea CEO Son Jeong-hyun the day the backlash began. On May 19 he issued a written apology in his own name, calling the incident “inexcusable.” Shinsegae later sent an envoy to the Gwangju May 18 Memorial Cultural Center, but civic groups refused to meet and instead demanded a full investigation while urging Chung to take direct responsibility.Civic organizations have since filed complaints accusing Chung of insulting and defaming the May 18 democratic movement. Company officials say Chung timed the public apology to coincide with when the investigation’s findings would be ready for release.President Lee Jae-myung also weighed in on May 23, criticizing a separate “Siren Mug” event Starbucks Korea ran on April 16 — the day commemorating the Sewol ferry disaster — and calling the action unacceptable. Lee shared a social media post by Rep. Jung Jin-wook, who described using siren imagery on April 16 as a “heinous act.” Shinsegae has countered that the siren event was entirely unrelated to the Sewol tragedy.The apology on the 26th is expected to focus on the “Tank Day” controversy and the investigation’s findings; the company has indicated it will not address the Sewol-related “Siren” event as part of this statement. Meanwhile, a boycott of Starbucks that began among progressive groups in response to the “Tank Day” marketing has spread into some government and ruling-party circles.