Starbucks Korea has dismissed its chief executive, Son Jeong-hyun, after a promotional campaign coinciding with the anniversary of a pro-democracy massacre triggered mass boycotts, a police investigation and a political firestorm. The coffee chain cancelled the 'Tank Day' promotion hours after it launched on 18 May, but the damage had already been done, with social media videos showing customers smashing Starbucks tumblers and deleting loyalty apps.
The campaign was designed to promote a new range of 'Tank' tumblers, but the choice of date and imagery reopened painful memories of the 1980 Gwangju massacre, when paratroopers crushed pro-democracy protests against military ruler Chun Doo-hwan. Victims' groups say hundreds were killed. The campaign also used the slogan 'thwack on the desk', which echoed a notorious police cover story for the 1987 torture death of student activist Park Jong-chul, who authorities initially claimed died after an officer hit a desk with his fist.
Shinsegae Group, the parent company behind Starbucks Korea, said the slogan had been suggested by an AI tool, and that some managers who approved the campaign had not opened the email attachments containing the marketing material. In a written apology, Shinsegae chairman Chung Yong-jin said he took 'very seriously' the pain and anger caused. He later made a televised appearance, bowing three times, but bereaved families and 5/18 organisations rejected the apology. Police have since booked Chung and Son as criminal suspects.
The backlash hit Starbucks's finances in South Korea, its third-largest global market. Card payment volumes at Starbucks stores fell 26% in the week following the controversy, with May payments down 10% on the previous month. Customers demanded refunds from an estimated 400bn won ($260m) held in prepaid cards. Several government ministries stopped ordering Starbucks gift cards, and the defence ministry suspended a partnership with the chain.
The controversy also turned political, with the leader of the Democratic party calling for Chung to kneel before the nation. Cho Youngho, a political scientist at Sogang University, said the outrage reflected deep societal divisions, noting that for those who supported democratisation in the 1980s and 1990s, commercialising or trivialising 5/18 was 'simply unacceptable'. The musical actor Jung Min-chan also stepped down from a production after posting a photograph of himself inside a Starbucks.
