Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin apologizes for Starbucks Korea's controversial marketing campaign at Josun Palace hotel in southern Seoul on Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin publicly apologized for Starbucks Korea’s controversial marketing campaign, which has been accused of justifying state violence during the 1980 Gwangju Uprising.
During a news conference held Tuesday, Chung, who owns a 67.5 percent stake in Starbucks Korea, apologized for causing public outrage and said that he and other executives involved in approving the campaign would take responsibility.
The controversy erupted last week when Starbucks Korea promoted a 503-milliliter tumbler called “Tank,” named after a water tank. The promotion, branded as “Tank Day,” was launched on May 18, the anniversary of the Gwangju Uprising.
Starbucks Korea said the campaign was intended simply to market its newly released tumbler and encourage customers to purchase it. However, many Koreans interpreted the campaign differently because of the historical significance of May 18, 1980 — a dark chapter in modern Korean history when military forces opened fire on pro-democracy protesters in the southwestern city of Gwangju, resulting in a massacre that claimed numerous innocent lives. Critics accused Starbucks Korea of running a politically insensitive campaign that appeared to evoke or even justify the violence associated with the pro-democracy movement.
Starbucks has become synonymous with the global premium coffeehouse experience, appealing to consumers by promoting an ethical sourcing approach that prioritizes coffee farmers in developing countries. While it was Starbucks Korea that caused public outrage through its missteps, Starbucks headquarters should also take the matter seriously, as the incident has tarnished the image of the global coffee chain. The company must establish a concrete action plan to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
The controversy escalated further as public officials and politicians joined the criticism. President Lee Jae Myung condemned the campaign on X, formerly Twitter, calling it a “cheap and inhumane profit-seeking marketing strategy.” Interior Minister Yun Ho-jung followed by announcing that the ministry would stop using Starbucks products and encouraged consumers to participate in a boycott. Agriculture Minister Song Mi-ryung also weighed in, urging consumers through a YouTube channel to choose traditional Korean tea over Starbucks coffee.
Starbucks Korea’s campaign became a textbook example of how careless language choices can create a public relations disaster. While the word “tank” itself is harmless, pairing it with “day” on the anniversary of the Gwangju massacre inevitably carried troubling associations for many Koreans.
The campaign also referenced the sound effect “tak” in its marketing, which added fuel to the fire. Starbucks Korea encouraged customers to “plunk” the tumbler onto a table to hear the sound “tak,” presenting it as a feature of the product. However, the planners overlooked the symbolic weight of the term. For many Koreans, “tak” recalls the 1987 death of student activist Park Jong-chul during police interrogation. At the time, investigators notoriously claimed they had struck him only once before hearing a “tak” sound shortly before he died. Since then, the expression has become associated with state brutality and the suppression of pro-democracy movements.
Given these associations, it is unsurprising that Starbucks Korea became embroiled in controversy. Critics and conspiracy theorists framed the campaign as politically motivated, citing examples of Shinsegae Chairman Chung demonstrating far-right views, while the company struggled to defend itself against accusations fueled by its own careless wording and inadequate internal review process.
Source: Korea Times News
