Starbucks Korea CEO Fired Over Controversial ‘Tank Day’ Promotion

Starbucks Korea fired its chief executive, Sohn Jeong-hyun, after a promotional campaign perceived to reference the bloody 1980 Gwangju Uprising sparked widespread outrage and a presidential rebuke.

The “Tank Day” coffee tumbler promotion launched Monday, the anniversary of the crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, prompting calls for a boycott and criticism from President Lee Jae Myung.

Many customers interpreted the “tank” motif as a reference to the military vehicles used by Chun Doo-hwan’s regime to crush demonstrators in May 1980.

Starbucks Korea canceled the promotion within hours. Shinsegae, the conglomerate holding a majority stake, apologized for “inappropriate marketing” and dismissed Sohn.

The promotion used English words “Tank Day” for its Tank Series tumblers, advertised as having “spacious volume” for large coffee servings.

Local reports said Starbucks initially explained the Tank Series was one of several tumblers in a campaign running from 15 to 26 May.

“We sincerely apologise for causing inconvenience and concern to our customers due to this,” the company said. “We have immediately suspended the event and will review and improve our internal processes to prevent similar incidents from recurring in the future.”

“I can’t believe they thought they could pull off something like this and people would just let it slide… it’s utterly absurd and infuriating,” an X user wrote early on Tuesday.

Multiple social media users called for boycotts of both Starbucks Korea and Shinsegae.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung criticized the campaign, saying it “insults the victims and the bloody struggle” of Gwangju residents.

“What on earth were they thinking, knowing how many lives were taken that day and how seriously that set back our country’s justice and history?” Lee wrote.

“I am outraged by such a low-class merchant’s inhumane behaviour, which denies our country’s values of basic human rights and democracy,” he added on X.

Reports estimate hundreds of demonstrators were killed in Gwangju on 18 May 1980.

Subsequent investigations confirmed troops deployed by Chun’s military regime committed rape and sexual assault during the massacre.

Since then, 18 May has been depicted in films and television as a day of national trauma and is commemorated annually as a sacred day of democracy.

The Gwangju Uprising set South Korea on a path to democracy, becoming a rallying cry for activists until the June 1987 movement that toppled Chun’s regime.

Some in South Korea claim the Starbucks campaign also referenced the 1987 democracy movement.

Promotional material included the Korean phrase “tak on the table!” using a word that sounds like an object slapped onto a surface.

“Tak” was also used in a controversial 1987 police statement about the death of a student activist in custody.

Police said the activist collapsed and died after an interrogator forcefully slapped the table, but the activist had actually died from torture.

Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin called the campaign “an inexcusable mistake that trivialised the suffering and sacrifices of all those who have dedicated themselves to the democracy of this country.”

In a Tuesday statement, he pledged to “thoroughly investigate” the approval procedures and “re-examine the review process” for marketing content across all affiliates.

Since selling its stake in July 2021, Starbucks Coffee Company, based in the US, has no involvement in Starbucks Korea’s operations.

Shinsegae’s subsidiary E-mart holds a 67.5% controlling stake in Starbucks Korea, with the remaining 32.5% owned by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC.