Starbucks Korea CEO fired after ‘Tank Day’ promo evokes brutal crackdown on democracy

A visitor watched North Korean side at the observatory of the Aegibong Peace Ecopark in Gimpo, South Korea, Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

SEOUL -- The head of Starbucks Korea has been fired after a marketing campaign sparked public outrage and boycott calls for evoking painful memories of a brutal military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in 1980.

Shinsegae Group, the retail conglomerate that licenses and manages the U.S. coffee chain in South Korea, said it had sacked Sohn Jeong-hyun, the head of Starbucks Korea, for carrying out “inappropriate marketing.”

Sohn’s dismissal came hours after Starbucks launched its “Tank Day” campaign on Monday promoting what it called its “Tank” line of tumblers with the tagline “put it on the table with a sound of ‘Tak!’”

Monday also marked Democratization Movement Day, which commemorates the student-led Gwangju Uprising of May 1980, and the campaign drew strong criticism in South Korea.

Hundreds of people are estimated to have died or gone missing when the military dictatorship of Chun Doo-hwan deployed troops and tanks to crack down on the protests. Many details remain unconfirmed, including who gave the order to open fire on the protesters. Chun finally stepped down in 1988 amid growing calls for democracy.

Critics also questioned the use of the phrase “tak” for echoing explanations by South Korean police in 1987 for the death of a student protester, who was found to have been tortured. At the time, police said the student died after investigators struck a desk making a “tak” sound, according to local media reports.

Reuters was unable to reach Sohn for comment and Starbucks Korea declined to make him available for comment, saying he had already left the company. The company has withdrawn the campaign.

Customers demand refunds, cancel memberships

Writing on X on Monday, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said he was “enraged” by Starbucks’ campaign and demanded it apologize to families of people killed during the uprising.

The campaign “tarnished the bloody protests of Gwangju citizens and the victims of the protests,” Lee said, calling it the act of a “degenerate peddler.”

Starbucks Korea posted a statement on its website apologizing for the promotion while Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin also issued a public apology.

“I deeply bow in apology as the representative of the group,” Chung said. The marketing “deeply hurt the public, the bereaved families, and the victims of the May 18 demonstration.”

Starbucks Korea’s apology, however, drew more than 2,800 comments on social media, many of them critical, and internet users posted photos online of them getting refunds on prepaid Starbucks card balances and canceling their app memberships with the coffee chain.

Some also posted videos of themselves destroying Starbucks tumblers, mugs and other merchandise.

Shares of Shinsegae’s discount retail chain E-Mart, which owns a 67.5 per cent stake in Starbucks Korea that is now called SCK Company, ended down 5.5 per cent at the close of trade in Seoul.

Starbucks Global also issued a statement on Tuesday, saying it was sorry about what had happened and that an investigation had begun.

“We sincerely apologize to the people of Gwangju, to those impacted by this tragedy, and to our customers and communities,” a spokesperson at Starbucks Global said in an email to Reuters.

“Leadership accountability actions have been taken, and a thorough investigation is underway,” the spokesperson said. “We are implementing stronger internal controls, review standards, and company-wide training to ensure this does not happen again.”

Reporting by Heejin Kim; Additional reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Sam Holmes and Kate Mayberry, Reuters